You Don't Have To Be Perfect: A Next Generation Romance
by LunaBeauty
Summary: "Why me?" she asked, nervously tugging at the hem of her jumper. "I'm not perfect." His deep brown eyes gazed tenderly into hers. "You don't have to be perfect," he said softly, caressing her cheek as he drew closer. {Next Generation} {James S. Potter and OC}
1. Chapter 1: I Don't Like Him Like That!

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* * *

 **Chapter One: I Don't Like Him Like That!**

It was a very beautiful day in mid-August. There was but a small gust of wind blowing through the trees, a perfect day for someone to be shirking their summer homework in order to go outside and, perhaps, play in the sprinklers, maybe go to the local teenage hangout, or, in the case of a young fourteen year old witch, take a ride on a broomstick. Juniper knew deep down that she should probably finish the essays that the Hogwarts professors had dumped on her before the start of summer break, but 'procrastination' was her middle name. Yet, not once since she came home did she even pick up her books and a quill. This was probably one of the reasons why she was doing so badly in some of her classes.

Juniper pulled the hairband off of her wrist and drew her wavy shoulder length reddish-brown hair into a ponytail and picked off a piece of lint from her sleeveless hoodie before picking up her Cleansweep 35, which rested against the screen door and walked a few feet into the open field, which was surrounded by a forest before swinging her leg over the broom and mounting it. The fourteen year old then kicked off into the air. The wind was fierce at a much higher altitude and her eyes began burning almost right away, but this was what she loved. Living in a more rural part of England, there was no chance of her being caught by Muggles, for she didn't exactly have any neighbors.

She slowly moved her broom handle upwards as she neared the forest to bring herself over the tops of the trees. Juniper might not have been good in many subjects, besides Charms, but if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was flying. The first chance she got, she had joined the Hufflepuff Quidditch team in her third year as a Chaser. She would have joined in her second year, but didn't have her own broomstick back then. She also knew that she probably wouldn't have been doing this if her parents were home. They had gone to a baby shower and, fortunately, Juniper and her sister weren't required to go, but they also weren't allowed to leave the house.

A sudden updraft caused Juniper to veer off for a brief moment, but she managed to steady her broomstick and prepared to perform a stunt when...

"Hey, Juniper, phone call for you!"

The rider stopped flying and hovered overhead. The voice belonged to her sister, Jaenelle, well, actually twin sister. The two were identical, although Jaenelle wore her hair longer and dressed better. "Phonecall, who?" Juniper called down.

"James! He wants to know if you could want to come over!"

Juniper's hazel eyes widened and her throat went dry. James Sirius Potter and she had known each other for three years now, although they didn't really start becoming friends until Juniper's third year, after she started playing Quidditch. He was actually a year ahead of her and it often confused her as to why he would even want to be friends with a lowly thirteen year old. Of course, Juniper was fourteen now and, hopefully, more mature.

"Come on now, we can't keep our boyfriend waiting!" Jaenelle called wiggling her eyebrows teasingly.

Juniper dipped her broomstick handle downwards and descended, touching lightly upon the grass. "He's not my boyfriend," she grumbled, although her face most likely resembled a very ripe tomato right about now. She walked into the house with Jaenelle following her.

"Well, if he's not your boyfriend, then can I have him?"

"No!" Juniper snapped. "I mean, I don't know, I mean, he's probably not looking for a girlfriend right about now." She began playing with her hair, something she did when she was nervous, which was also when she started talking non-sensically. She picked up the receiver and shooed her sister, who had a big shit-eating grin on her face, away. "Hello?"

"Hey, you were outside flying, weren't you?" James voice crackled on the other end.

Juniper waved her hand in attempts to get rid of her very nosy sister who was smirking and wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner while trying to speak simultaneously to James. "Um...what if I was doing my hair, instead?"

James laughed causing Juniper's stomach to flipflop a little bit. "That's because I know you, Junie, you spend less time on your hair than a boy does. Now, out with it. You were shirking out on your homework by practicing your flying, weren't you?"

"So what if I was?" There went her hands again, twirling her fingers around her ponytail as she leaned against the wall, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder. This was one of those times she wished that this phone was cordless or that she had a cellphone, but her parents had said no cell phones until her sister and she were sixteen.

"I'd say that I've been a pretty bad influence on you. I mean, sneaking out of the house, not doing your schoolwork, you've turned into quite the delinquint."

Juniper was struggling not to laugh. Leave it to James to take the credit, although Juniper was a big procrastinator in almost everything way before she started to really talk to him, and even though he procrastinated at times, as well, he was still a much better student than she was. "I have not!" she whined, stomping her left foot while covering her mouth to restrain a giggle-snort that came out anyways.

"So, anyways, do you want to come over?" he asked. "My parents said it was all right as long as your parents were fine with it."

Juniper bit down on her chapped bottom lip, tugging at the dry skin a bit. "Um...well...my parents aren't exactly home and they wouldn't like it if they found out that a boy was over here without them being present."

She could almost see him shrugging. "So, I'll only stay for about an hour or so, then leave. I'm really bored over here. Come on, we can pass around the Quaffle."

Juniper was tempted, oh, she was so tempted, but her longing to bend the rules a little bit was outshined by the fear that her parents might come home without warning as they sometimes did. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. But, hey, we can totally see each other next week. That's when Jae and I go to Diagon Alley to get our school supplies."

James' tone seemed to brighten up when Juniper said that. "Yeah, sure, I'll talk to my mum and dad and see if we're going then, as well."

"Great! Well um...I'll talk to you later, I guess."

"Yep, same here. You sure you don't want me to come over?"

Juniper laughed. "I'm sure." She said good-bye to him and hung up the receiver before she was tempted to say yes. Having him at the house would be too much for her to handle.

"So, you're not going over there?" Jaenelle asked as she followed her sister into the kitchen.

"Nope." Juniper opened the freezer and took out a box of popsicles, grabbing a grape.

"Honestly, if I was you, I'd jump at the chance. That boy is so fine!"

"But you're not me," Juniper reminded Jaenelle bluntly. "Besides, I'm definitely not his type."

Jaenelle rolled her eyes. "Right, I can sense denial when I hear it. You are so hot for him."

Juniper plopped herself down on the couch and turned on the television to an old re-run of a sitcom that was cancelled way back in the mid-90s. To say that her face was a little tinged right now would be an understatement. "Even if I did like him in that sort of way, which I don't, I would never have a chance with him."

"Whatever you say, but any guy who would be willing to travel all the way out here just to hang out with you is definitely not just a 'friend'," She made air quotes with her fingers when she said the word 'friend'.

Juniper shrugged and turned the television up louder why slumping down against the cushions and nibbling the edges of the popsicle in that annoying messy way her parents hated. As much as she wanted it to be true, the possibility of James and her actually becoming more than just friends was about as slim as Hufflepuff winning the Quidditch Cup this year. Besides, if anything, James probably considered her to be a little sister.

* * *

"Hey, come on, James. Time to wake up."

The dark haired fifteen year old groaned and turned over to look at his bedside clock. Without his glasses, the numbers were blurred. He groped around the side table for his glasses and slipped them on. The clock read 8:52. He ran his fingers through his thick and very messy black hair and sat up, fixing his eyes on the person who had woken him up much earlier than he wanted to be. "Dad, it's almost nine in the morning. You know I don't wake up until around eleven during the summer."

The elder bespectacled wizard pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose and straightened the cuff of his dark blue button up shirt. "Your mother wants to go ahead and get to Diagon Alley before it gets too busy."

"You're insane," James muttered, throwing the covers over his head. Harry answered him by flicking his wand, causing the blanket to fly off.

"Come on now, it's not that bad. You want to see Juniper, don't you?" Harry's green eyes twinkled knowingly.

James ruffled his already messy hair. "I really don't see why we have to get up early. Juniper and her family probably aren't going to be there until later." He had no idea why his dad was looking at him like that. Juniper was definitely just a friend, who he had been wanting to see all summer, but never got the chance to.

"It'll be fine, we're leaving at around 9:30, so you have about thirty minutes to get ready." Harry turned and walked out of the room.

James was halfway tempted to just turn over and go back to sleep, but the door opened again, revealing his thirteen year old sister, who was still dressed in her nightgown. "James, have you seen my purple jumper?" she asked. "I really can't find it."

The fifteen year old scratched his cheek. "Er...I don't know. Did you look in the bureau?"

Lily thought for a moment, seemingly perplexed. James sighed, knowing that getting five more minutes of sleep would be impossible. He stood up. "Just give me about five minutes to get dressed and I'll come help you find it."

He shooed his younger sister out of the room and quickly found something to wear. After getting dressed, he spent about two minutes on his hair, which included just running his fingers through it. James definitely inherited his messy tresses from his father, as well as his horrible eyesight, although Harry often said that James' personality more greatly resembled that of his late grandfather's and godfather's, both of whom he was named after as his middle name was Sirius.

About ten minutes later, just as James predicted, Lily's jumper was found in her bureau and he was finally allowed to go downstairs where the rest of the family was. His fourteen year old brother, Albus, was already sitting at the table with a plate of toast and marmalade and a few links of breakfast sausage.

"It's about time you came down," James' mother came forward with a plate and set it down in front of James as he slid into the chair.

"Sorry, I was helping Lily find her jumper." James looked up at his dad who was busy reading the Daily Prophet while simultaneously trying to sip his coffee. "Hey, Dad, you think that since I'm captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team now, I could get that new Firebolt 4000?"

Harry lowered the paper and set down his coffee. "What's wrong with the broom you have now? It's a perfectly fine model."

"Come on, Dad, when you were Captain back in your day, you had an original Firebolt model and automatically became a much better flyer."

Harry chuckled. "Yes, the Firebolt was a better model than the Nimbus 2000, but it was my own skills that improved, regardless of the make of the broom. After all, your mother flew around on a Cleansweep 7 and did very well, herself."

James knew that the answer was no. He pouted a little bit, as he owned a Firebolt 2000. It served its purpose well, but it wasn't nearly as sleek or speedy as the newest Firebolt model.

"Hey, James, you think you could let me on the team this year?" Lily asked curiously, looking up from her half eaten toast. "You know, as a special favor?"

James snorted. "I'm not going to automatically give you a spot on the team just because you're my sister. You have to try out just like everyone else."

"Hey, don't worry," Albus spoke up. "I'll help you practice a bit before tryouts and you'll do fine."

Lily seemed to brighten. James was sure that his sister would do fine. If she was anything like the rest of the family, then she would be a decent flyer and easily land a spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Exactly, and if by some chance you don't make the team. Well, the Frog Choir could always use more members," James said with a teasing smirk.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him causing her mother to look at her admonishingly before heading over to the fireplace mantle and peering into a small clay teapot. "Hm...remind me to get more while we're out, Harry," she said.

James quickly swallowed down another sip of orange juice before joining his family near the fireplace where they would use the Floo Powder network to travel to Diagon Alley. Since he and his brother and sister were both still underaged and couldn't Apparate unless they went side-along, this was their usual form of travel, besides the car. They each went in one by one making sure to speak directly so that they didn't end up in the wrong fireplace. When James was thirteen, he had purposefully called out Knockturn Alley instead of Diagon Alley as a general curiosity. The young wizard had received such a flogging from his mother that he was unable to sit down properly for a week. James ended up going last after Albus. He threw the powder into the fireplace causing the flames the flair up a bright emerald color before he bellowed, "Diagon Alley!"


	2. Chapter 2: Embarrassing Little Sisters

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* * *

 **Chapter Two: Little Sisters Are So Embarrassing**

Juniper stood in front of the stone wall that served as the entrance to Diagon Alley yawning. Her sister was resting her head on her shoulder practically asleep. She knew she shouldn't have attempted that essay last night. Juniper had finally gotten to bed at about five in the morning, and was woken up at around seven, meaning she was going on abou two hours of sleep. As for Jaenelle, well, Jaenelle just didn't like getting up early to begin with. Suddenly, Juniper felt herself being clapped on a shoulder and a loud voice boomed, "Look alive!"

The twins nearly jumped out of their skins and turned in unison to round at the culprit, their father. Juniper merely glared at him.

"Did we really have to wake up this early?" Jaenelle pouted. "The shops aren't going anywhere. We could've gone after lunch."

"Stop complaining, Jaenelle," their mother chastised as she put a sheet of parchment back into her purse, then tapped the correct bricks with her wand. They began to shift and rearrange themselves to form an archway. Together, the family of four stepped into Diagon Alley.

Even this early in the morning the streets were bustling with activity. Juniper stepped out of the way of a harried witch hurrying past. Despite running on just fumes right now, Diagon Alley had that certain charm that she loved. Even Jaenelle's expression seemed to brighten a little bit, but that could've been because a group of seventh year boys walked past laughing about something. Of course, a trip to Gringotts was in order first. The girls filled their sacks with an assortment of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.

"Right," Mr. Clayton said once they were all back outside again. "You girls know what you need to get. Your mum and I have a few things to pick up, ourselves. So, we'll trust the two of you to go off on your own. Remember to get only what you need and nothing more."

Juniper nodded and Jaenelle said, "Got it, Dad." Once Mr. and Mrs. Clayton were gone, Jaenelle turned to her twin. "Well, I'm going to see if I can find those boys again. Want to come with me?"

Juniper wrinkled her nose. "No thanks," she said. Jaenelle smirked knowingly. "What?"

"You just want to find James, don't you?"

"No!" Juniper cried frantically.

"Hm...okay, sure. One day you won't be able to deny it." Juniper watched as her sister flounced away. Juniper's shoulders slumped. She would never have the confidence that her sister had. They might have have shared similar faces, but they were as different as night and day. Tugging at the sleeve of her black and yellow striped Quidditch jumper, she headed towards Flourish and Blott's. She quickly found _**The Standard Book Of Spells Grade Four**_ and stood facing the bookshelf, flipping through it. She was unaware that someone was sneaking up very silently behind her. Juniper then felt a pair of hands grab her suddenly and tickle her sides. She shrieked and dropped the book hearing a familiar laugh. Juniper turned and found herself face to face with James.

"Why are you so jumpy?" he grinned cheekily. Juniper scowled up at him. "You know I don't like that," she muttered.

James reached forward and gave her ponytail a light playful tug. "Sorry," he said bending down to retrieve Juniper's book."

Juniper took the book and clutched it tightly to her chest. "Er...we just sort of got here." She looked up on one of the higher shelves and saw another book she needed, but it was too high for her to reach, even standing on her tiptoes.

"I got it." James, who was much taller, stretched his arms slightly and grabbed the book.

"Thanks, where's the rest of your family?" she asked.

"Mum took Lily to buy some new robes, Dad's in the Leaky Cauldron, and I think Albus was headed to the Apothecary last time I saw him. I need to get my books from here then head to Eeylop's to get some more Owl Treats for Socrates. Still can't believe Lily named him that," James added under his breath, but loudly enough for Juniper to hear.

Juniper laughed lightly. "Can't you change it?"

"Nah, he won't answer to anything else." James paid for his books and waited patiently for Juniper to make her purchases as well before the two of them walked out of Flourish and Blott's.

Juniper went with James to the Owl Emporium, even though she didn't need anything from there. Juniper had never really had a pet for herself, unless one counted Ferdy, but that was more of the family owl and didn't accompany her to Hogwart's. While James was looking at the different Owl Treats, Juniper was perusing the different species of owls.

"Maybe your parents will agree to let you have one," James said coming up behind her, clutching a bag of mouse shaped treats in his right hand.

She tore her eyes off of a rather beautiful Tawny in order to look up at James. "I seriously doubt it. I can barely get through Transfiguration and that's ten times harder than taking care of a pet."

James reached forward, past Juniper's left shoulder and stroked the owl's breast. The Tawny hooted with pleasure and lightly nipped the Gryffindor's hand affectionately. Juniper tilted her head upwards to look at James, a very soft pink tinge on her cheeks. Her throat went dry as he was rather close to her. The shirttail of his open button up that layered over the red t-shirt underneath brushed lightly against her arm. Juniper struggled to regain her composure before James caught her looking at him, but he gave her a rather faint smirk just the same.

"Hey, why are you blushing?" he teased lightly poking the tip of her nose.

Juniper frowned and brushed his hand away. "It's just a little warm in here that's all," she lied as convincingly as she could, but her heart skipped a beat when he grinned impishly before stepping back.

"Well, I'll just pay for these. Where do you have to go next?"

Juniper was glad when he didn't tease her more. That was another thing she liked about him. He didn't pressure her when she was uncomfortable. She dug the list of school supplies from her purse and looked it over. "Er...even though I think I'm still good on Potions ingredients, I should probably stock up on some more."

"Well then, I guess we're headed to the Apothecary next."

"What do you mean we? You don't have to come with me." It was embarrassing enough as it was that she couldn't keep herself from blushing.

"Because we promised to hang out together when we were in Diagon Alley, remember?"

Juniper nervously played with her hair. "Yes, but...don't you have other things you need to get?"

"Yes, and Potions ingredients are one of the things on my list as well. You're not trying to get rid of me, are you?"

She shook her head frantically. "No, no, no! I just...um...I mean...well..." she spent about fifteen seconds stammering, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why he didn't have to come with her everywhere, but could find none.

 _'Face it, you're just afraid of your crush on him getting so out of control that you won't be able to contain your feelings.'_

 _'It's not like that! I just don't want him to feel like he has to accompany me everywhere and watch over me."_

 _'I doubt he feels that way. He seems perfectly eager to be by your side. You know what that means, don't you?"_

 _'It doesn't mean a thing! We're just friends.'_

 _'Says the girl who can barely stop blushing each time she looks at him.'_

 _'That doesn't mean I like him!'_

 _'Keep telling yourself that. You won't be able to hide it forever.'_

"Juniper?"

She was torn away from her mental argument with herself when James said her name. "Oh, right, the Apothecary." She didn't realize that she had been walking while she was having her internal conflict, but now James and she were in front of the small shop. He held the door open for her, allowing her to walk in first.

* * *

James caught a whiff of Juniper's scent as she walked past him into the Apothecary and silently cursed. Why did she have to affect him so? These feelings hadn't really surfaced before the middle of last year. He would admit, he only first started to really talk to her because she had joined the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and was surprised at one of her practices. How could someone as awkward as her be such a natural on a broom? In ensuing Quidditch Matches against Hufflepuff, she definitely kept him on his toes, but the strange part was that she didn't seem to be trying too hard to score any goals, and when she did, she didn't react very much. The only thing she cared about was flying.

He would soon learn that there was more to her than just Quidditch. Yes, she had a very shy and awkward persona, but she would sit and listen to what he had to say, sometimes giving her input. Over the curse of her third year and his fourth year, the two of them had grown closer and closer until they formed a rather strong friendship. The fact that she seemed so natural was what sparked those feelings. She wasn't superficial like a lot of the other girls. James found it to be a breath of fresh air. James found himself drawn to her shyness.

He often teased and flirted with her, enjoying her reactions. Yet, there was a large part of him that wished their friendship could evolve into something deeper. But he would do nothing to force Juniper into anything until he was absolutely one-hundred percent sure that she felt the same as well.

Albus wasn't in the Apothecary, James assumed that his younger brother had finished here and traveled somewhere else. The fifteen year old stocked up on different ingredients including asphodel, flitterbloom, herbaria, and leech juice, among many others. He looked over at Juniper who was measuring snakeweed. Her back was turned to him, so he was able to stare without her seeing. He grimaced, why did she have to be so cute? Realizing that he was most likely being a creep, he turned back to his ingredients and finished measuring them out.

The door to the Apothecary opened and James heard the familiar chatter of his younger sister.

"But Muuum! Why can't I have the purple dress robes? They would have looked so good on me!" she whined.

"I told you, Lily, they're too revealing for any thirteen year old," Mrs. Potter admonished. "The green dress robes I got you are just fine." She stopped talking when she saw James. "Hi, son. Have you gotten many of the things on your list so far?"

James secretly prayed that his mother wouldn't do or say anything to embarrass him in front of Juniper. "Just a few more things to get."

"Hey, Juniper!" Lily called out, waving to the fourteen year old. Forget his mother, his sister would be more likely to say something embarrassing.

"Hi, Lily," Juniper said with a shy, yet friendly smile. "How've you been?"

"Great! Guess what? I'm going to try out for Quidditch this year! I can't wait, I hope James lets me onto the team."

"If you're anything like your two brothers when it comes to flying, you'll be just fine," Juniper said reassuringly.

Lily grimaced. "I hope so, because I don't know if I could join the Frog Choir instead."

Juniper chuckled. "They don't seem that bad. I joined last year, briefly, but I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket."

Lily frowned and looked up at James. "I thought you said that she had the voice of an angel."

James moved quickly covering his younger sister's mouth and laughed nervously. "Okay, that's enough out of you. You should really lay off the chocolate. It's messing with your brain a bit."

"James, be nice to your sister," Mrs. Potter scolded lightly before smiling at Juniper. "Hello, dear. How are you and the rest of your family doing?"

Juniper tugged lightly at the hem of her jumper. "They're fine."

"That's good. Tell them I said hello."

Juniper nodded. "I will." All the while, James was making jerking motions with his head, silently trying to hint to his mother and his sister that they should go away.

Mrs. Potter seemed to take notice of her son's hints. "All right, we'll just leave you two alone. We just came in here to get some valerian root."

James sighed in relief, glad that they were going to leave without him being embarrassed too much, save for that earlier statement by his sister.

But Lily just couldn't resist one more. "Hey, Juniper? If you dated my brother, I'm sure he'd be very happy."

James ground his teeth. "Yes, thank you for that, Lily," he muttered.

The thirteen year old smiled cheerfully and followed her mother out of the Apothecary. In the course of five minutes, he had been thoroughly embarrassed by his little sister. Why, oh why couldn't his parents stop after they had Albus? He lifted his glasses up slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose sighing.

"So...er..." There Juniper was again, playing with her ponytail and biting down nervously on her bottom lip.

James quickly regained his composure. "So, how about some ice cream," he said, hoping that she wouldn't mention anything about what his sister had said.

"Sure," Juniper said smiling lightly. The two of them made their purchases before heading out into the cool air and traveling the short distance to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.


	3. Chapter 3: My Friends Are Jerks

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* * *

 **Chapter Three: My Friends Are Jerks**

The rest of the week passed by uneventfully and soon it was the morning of September first. The Clayton household was in a frenzy. Juniper was in her room getting some last minute packing in. Outside, she could hear her sister stomping down the hallway calling to their mother, who was downstairs.

"Mum, where's my Hair Volumizing Tonic?"

Juniper heard her mother's faint voice yell, "Did you check the medicine cabinet?"

"Yeah, that's the first place I looked!"

"Then ask your sister!"

Sure enough, just as Juniper was unlocking the fourth lock of her enchanted seven-lock trunk where she usually stuffed her broomstick and other Quidditch belongings in, Jaenelle appeared in her doorway.

"Hey, you didn't happen to borrow my Hair Tonic, did you?" she asked rather flustered.

Juniper shut down the lid of her trunk and locked it. "You know I don't really use that stuff. Didn't you leave it by Ferdy's cage when you used it yesterday?"

Jaenelle was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Oh, I guess I'll go check there, then." Her hazel eyes fell upon the pile of clothes that was on Juniper's bed. "Geez, it's nothing but jeans, jumpers, and t-shirts." In another pile was Juniper's usual uniforms and robes. "Why not pack a dress robe or two?"

Juniper grimaced and looked towards her closet. She only owned two dress robes. One in a dark blue color and the other a buttercup yellow. "They look weird on me," she muttered.

Jaenelle rolled her eyes and went to Juniper's closet, perusing the two choices before taking down the dark blue one. "We are so going shopping at Hogsmeade the first chance we get." She set the dress robe on the bed.

"And I will kick and scream the whole way," Juniper muttered. She hated shopping more than she hated sitting through Transfiguration.

"You'll change your mind one day," Jaenelle said casually. "There's half an hour left before we need to leave, so you should probably hurry before Mum comes in here and reams you a new ass."

"You're one to talk," Juniper retorted, pouting slightly as she stuffed the dress robe carelessly into the second compartment with the rest of her clothes not caring if anything got wrinkled.

Jaenelle gave her twin a smug grin. "I'm pretty much done. All I need to do is grab one or two more things and I'll be all set."

Juniper opened her mouth to say something, but figured it wasn't worth it and went back to her own packing. She loved her sister and got along fairly well with her, but sometimes Jaenelle could be so annoying. Finally, after about ten more minutes, Juniper finished packing. She grabbed her wand from her bedside table and slipped it into the pocket of her hoodie and peered outside. The forecast revealed that it was going to rain and, for once, the weatherman was right, unfortunately. The darkened sky had opened up and water poured down in sheets.

Mrs. Clayton poked her head in. "You finished packing, yet?" she asked.

"I think so," Juniper replied.

"You got all your books, your robes, everything?"

Juniper nodded. "All in here." She lightly nudged her trunk with her toe.

"Good. It's time to head out now." Juniper followed her mother downstairs and outside. She stood under the porch while their mother cast a barrier around the three of them to protect them from the rain. Courtesy of their parent's job, they had been provided with a Ministry Car, complete with a driver waiting patiently behind the wheel. Once the girls had their trunks packed away in the boot of the car, they made themselves cozy in the back, while their mother sat in the front passenger seat.

Juniper stared out the window her left foot drawn up onto the seat, watching the rain come down while Jaenelle talked a mile a minute about anything and everything.

"Juniper, get your foot off the seat," Mrs. Clayton chastised. Juniper looked at her mother and did as she was told. To the Muggle eye, the Ministry car looked like any other normal car, but it was enchanted to go places where Muggle forms of transportation could not, including the most narrow of alleyways. The Claytons arrived at King's Cross at 10:42. Mrs. Clayton rushed frantically to grab two trolleys for her daughters despite the fact that they had a little over seventeen minutes before they were due to board the Hogwart's Express.

As soon as the three of them were past the barrier, Mrs. Clayton drew her daughters into a hug. "Be good this year. Jaenelle, try and take some time out of your social life to write me every once in awhile. Juniper, try and pay better attention in your classes this year. I really don't want another letter from your professors again explaining that you're not doing too well."

Juniper's shoulders slumped. Why did her mother have to remind her about those letters that had been sent over the past few years? It should have been good enough that she, at least, passed her exams with acceptable marks. "I'll try, Mum," she said, but without much enthusiasm.

"I mean it. The next few years are definitely going to be the hardest for you. You really need to buckle down."

Juniper merely nodded before receiving another hug from her mother, then boarded the train with her sister.

"I'm going to see if I can find Marisa and Lori," Jaenelle said.

"Sure." Juniper watched as her sister wheeled her trunk down the narrow corridor. Juniper wasn't really very close to Jaenelle's friends, so she opted out of inviting herself to come along. With a sigh, Juniper dragged her own trunk through the corridor. She accidentally stepped on a few toes in the process before finding an empty compartment.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"Juniper caught a glimpse of honey-blonde hair belonging to Kaylynn Lamdar, one of her friends. The Hufflepuff dragged her trunk in and stored it on the top rack before helping Juniper with her luggage.

"I don't stand out very much. That's probably why you couldn't find me at first," Juniper said as she sat down.

"Oh, stop," Kaylynn chastised. "I won't have you constantly putting yourself down this year."

"Hey, so how was your trip to Hawaii?" Juniper asked changing the subject.

"It was so amazing! Check out this tan I got!" Kaylynn held out her arm. Sure enough her skin was a few shades darker. Juniper thought that Kaylynn was probably one of the prettiest girls at Hogwart's. "I also met this boy. He was a full two years older than me and he actually thought I was the same age as him!"

"That's neat. So you had your own summer romance? Was he wizard or Muggle?"

"He was a wizard. He goes to one of the American wizarding schools." Kaylynn dug into her purse and produced a photo of a rather handsome boy with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "His name is Michael."

"He's cute," Juniper said with a light smile. "So, are you two going to continue your long distance relationship?"

"I don't know." Kaylynn slipped the photo back into her purse. "We promised each other that we'd send owls as much as possible, but long distance relationships are so hard to keep up. I won't be surprised if it fails."

Juniper had never actually had anything remotely close to a boyfriend, so she didn't really have the experience to give her best friend relationship advice. "Well, I guess if it's meant to work out, it will." That was really all she felt comfortable saying on the subject.

"Probably." Kaylynn made herself comfortable in her seat and drew her wand and started to play around with it, creating red and green sparks. Juniper and Kaylynn had been friends since the second week of their first year at Hogwart's. Kaylynn was the kind of person Juniper wished she could be.

* * *

James waved good-bye to his parents as his siblings and he boarded the train. Almost immediately. Almost immediately, Albus found two of his friends standing a little further down the corridor

"Hey, there's Scorpius and Rose!" He jogged away to meet up with the Slytherin and his cousin. Lily went her own separate way to find her own friends as soon as she had stepped onto the train. James tried not to bump into anyone in the crowded corridor as he searched for a compartment. He stopped when he saw Juniper and her friend, Kaylynn through the window of one of them. They were laughing about something and James' heart skipped a beat to see Juniper smiling. Not wanting to just stand there and spy on them, he slid the door open.

"Hey, ladies. Mind if I join you?"

Kaylynn grinned. "Sure, take a seat." The honey haired Hufflepuff smirked at James as he sat down next to Juniper. "So, James, Juniper was just telling me about your date her in Diagon Alley just before you got here."

"It wasn't a date!" Juniper protested. "We just hung out together."

"Well, from the way you were telling it, it seemed like a date to me. He even bought you ice cream."

"So, I've bought you ice cream before," Juniper muttered sliding down in her seat, looking like she wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor.

James chuckled. "Even if it wasn't a date, Junie and I still had a good time together." He slung his arm around the Hufflepuff beside him and gave her a one-armed hug. Juniper pretended not to notice and was busy pretending to be interested in the sleeve of her hoodie. The compartment door opened again and one of James' friends, Seth poked his head in.

"There you are, James. You have to see the tarantula Liam got. This thing is huge!"

James sat up. "You wanna come see, Juniper?" he asked.

Juniper scowled. "I really don't like spiders. You go on ahead."

"I'll be right back," he promised as he left the compartment. Sure enough, Liam did have a new tarantula. James and the rest of his male friends stood around admiring it and some were even brave enough to hold it and even spook a few girls with it who were curious enough to find out what was so interesting. Soon, James found himself being coerced to sit with his friends, even though he did want sit with Juniper. He was halfway tempted to go back to her compartment and ask if she wanted to sit with him, but he knew she didn't feel too comfortable around crowds, especially his friends who could be a bit overwhelming, even though they were pretty good guys.

"I can't wait for Quidditch practice," Liam said. "Let's hope we can replace Garrison with someone just as good."

"Trust me, we will," James said confidently. "I know a few people who would love to try out, including my sister, Lily."

"It'll be awesome having her on the team," Jordan said. He was a Beater on the team. "Your sister is really hot."

The rest of the guys snickered, but James glared at the brown haired Gryffindor. "Watch it. That's my little sister you're talking about." He may have found Lily annoying, but it would be a cold day in Hell before he ever let any of his friends even think about dating her or just making a move on her in general.

"Sorry, mate. I was just speaking the truth. Your sister is really pretty and you know I have a thing for red heads."

"So then date one of the other many red heads that go to Hogwart's," James suggested. "But my sister is off limits to all of you. That goes for Rose, too," he said adding his cousin as an after thought.

The boys were silent for a few minutes. Liam and Jordan were looking over a copy of a rather dirty magazine that Liam had snatched from his father's office and James was cleaning the handle of his broomstick. Finally, Seth spoke up again.

"Hey, Potter, what were you doing sitting next to Juniper?" he asked.

James looked up from his broom. "She's my friend. I just wanted to say hi to her."

"You two have nothing in common," Liam said closing the magazine. "I swear that girl barely talks at all and when she does, you can barely hear her."

"If anything, you should definitely be hanging around his sister. Now that's a girl who knows how to have fun," Jordan said smirking.

"What do you know about Jaenelle?" Liam asked.

"Let's just say that the girl is a very good kisser. I had the privelege of snogging her in one of the broom closets last year. She's aggressive too. I swear, she just grabbed me, definite wild streak in that one."Jordan looked at James. "You should give it a try, sometimes. I doubt she'd say no to you."

"Jaenelle isn't really my type," James said, narrowing his eyes at his promicuous friend.

"Yet you like Juniper who looks almost exactly the same," Liam said.

"Too bad she's so frumpy," Jordan chortled. "I wonder if she even has a body underneath those baggy jumpers and hoodies that she usually wears."

Liam and Jordan snickered, but Seth shook his head. "Hey, she's not so bad." He glanced at James who had his fists clenched and looked like he wanted to punch someone in the throat. "She's a really good Quidditch Player and she is kind of cute in that awkward kind of way.

James chose not to lay into the two of his friends, but he was thinking that they were major jerks right about now. Fearing that he would drive his foot up both their asses if they said anything else demeaning about Juniper, he excused himself to go sit with her since he had promised that he would return, and that was almost forty-five minutes ago.


	4. Chapter 4: The New Girl

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* * *

 **Chapter Four: The New Girl**

The rest of the train ride was rather uneventful. Juniper spent it with James and Kaylynn, but now she was ready to arrive at Hogwart's. The pastries that she had eaten had seemed so long ago and she was starving once again. Twenty minutes before they were due to arrive at Hogwart's, she went to one of the small lavatory to change into her robes. Most girls her age would most likely spend a few minutes afterwards touching up their hair or putting on some lipgloss, but as soon as Juniper finished dressing, she didn't even pause to look at herself in the mirror before leaving and going to sit back down with Kaylynn and James once more. The two of them had used some of the other lavatories to change as well. Soon, the train began to slow down and gradually came to a stop at the Hogsmeade Train Station. Immediately after stepping off of the train, Juniper heard a familiar voice and saw a swinging lantern.

"Firs' years this way!" Hagrid's voice called. "All righ' there, James?" he asked the bespectacled fifteen year old. "How're yer parents?"

"They're good," James replied. Juniper merely smiled at Hagrid and said hello in a rather shy tone. From what James had told her, Hagrid had been the groundskeeper at Hogwart's when his parents attended. Juniper had no idea how old he was, but his salt and pepper beard made her assume that he was pretty up in his years.

"Hey, I found us a carriage!" Kaylynn called waving to the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Juniper tore her eyes away from Hagrid and the first years surrounding him and climbed into the carriage. She looked over towards the other carriages. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius had claimed another carriage with another Gryffindor and Jaenelle was sharing a rather crowded carriage with a few of her friends.

"Mind if I ride with you?" a voice asked. It belonged to Slytherin, Kelsea Jackson.

"Hop in," Kalynn said, scooting over to make room for the strawberry blonde girl. The fifth year climbed in and sat down next to Kaylynn.

"How was your summer?" she asked them.

James and Kaylynn told Kelsea a little bit about their adventures of the summer. Juniper only muttered three words. "It was fine."

Kelsea leaned forward and grinned at Juniper. "Come on, you must have done something, gone somewhere."

Juniper shook her head. "My parents had to work nearly all summer, so we didn't really get to take a vacation."

Kelsea straightened in her seat. "I had an amazing summer. I vacationed with my parents and a few friends at our summer home." She ran her fingers through her strawberry tresses. "Oh, by the way, you're looking at the new Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team," she said rather smugly.

"Hey, awesome!" James exclaimed. "I'm actually the new Captain for Gryffindor."

"No one deserves it more than you. I can't wait to kick your ass on the field."

James smirked. "We'll see about that."

Juniper's smile fell down a notch as James and Kelsea laughed together. While Kelsea had her attention on Kaylynn and was discussing some Quidditch tactics with her, Juniper looked at James briefly, before casting her eyes down upon her hands folded in her lap. What did James think of Kelsea? The two of them had so much in common, definitely way more than the Hufflepuff had with James.

 _'You need to get over it. Stop always second guessing yourself and prove to him that you're worthy.'_

 _'It would never work out between the two of you. James doesn't need a girlfriend that he constantly has to carry around all the time. He deserves a bright, outgoing girl like Kelsea. Hell, even Kaylynn or Jaenelle would be better suited. You'd only drag him down.'_

 _'Don't listen to her. You have a lot of good qualities. Think about it, if James didn't like you, would he even speak to you?'_

 _'Did you ever stop to think that he's only hanging around you because he feels sorry for you?'_

The inner conflict was interrupted by Kaylynn placing a hand on Juniper's shoulder. She blinked and looked up. "What?"

"We're here now." Juniper climbed down carefully, helped by James. However, her robes snagged on the corner of the carriage and she stumbled as she was stepping down. James' arm encircled her waist quickly, catching her before she could land face first and most likely chip her two front teeth.

She looked up at James as her heart pounded rapidly in her chest and she became flushed. He grinned down at her.

"Well now, if you wanted to fall into my arms, all you had to do was ask," he teased her.

Kaylynn snickered. "Do you want us to leave you two alone for a little while?"

Juniper quickly stepped away from James, even though there was a small part of her that didn't want to.

Kelsea chuckled. "Well, I'll see you guys later," she said before heading off to join a few of her fellow Slytherin.

James, Juniper, and Kaylynn walked into the Great Hall together, but James headed to the left towards the Gryffindor table that was nearest the wall, while Juniper and Kaylynn made their way towards the Hufflepuff table. Many other students were joining their friends at their respective House tables. Jaenelle was already at the Slytherin table, laughing with her friends. She caught a glimpse of Juniper and waved, earning a smile from her Hufflepuff twin.

Juniper was deep in thought as she sat down. What kind of kisser was James? He had to be a good one. She'd never really worked up the courage to ask any of three girls he'd dated in the past. Why was she even thinking about something like that? It's not like it would ever happen.

"What's up with you?" Kaylynn asked. "You're being a lot more quiet than usual."

"I'm just hungry, that's all," Juniper half-lied.

Kaylynn snorted. "You were totally fantasizing about James again."

"I was not!" Juniper protested.

The honey haired Hufflepuff rolled her eyes. "You're not a very good liar."

Before Juniper could open her mouth, the first years began filing in. Some of them looked positively terrified and others were too in awe of everything around them from the floating candles to the ceiling bewitched to mirror the sky outside. Juniper's reaction had bordered between fear and awe the first time she had stepped through those doors. She remembered her heart pounding as she had sat down in front of everyone with the Sorting Hat on her head. She had wanted to pass out from sheer terror back then as every single pair of eyes was on her. It had been a relief when the Hat finally pronounced her a Hufflepuff and she was able to step down and join the rest of the first years at her respective table. So, she could sympathize with many of the first years here tonight.

The Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, set the Sorting Hat down and began to call out names alphabetically. Juniper paid attention to the first few names, cheering a little louder than usual when the first Hufflepuff was announced before her mind, like so many others, traveled elsewhere. The Sortings were more or less the same. However, as she looked around, her hazel eyes rested on a girl she didn't recognize sitting a few feet away at the Hufflepuff table. At first she thought nothing of it, since there were still some students in her House that she didn't know the names of, but Kaylynn, who knew everyone in Hufflepuff, leaned over and whispered to Juniper.

"Hey, who's that?"

Juniper shrugged. "I don't know." The girl wasn't even paying attention to the Sorting. She had a thick book open in front of her and seemed more interested in that. Her thick framed glasses slid down the bridge of her nose and she paused in her reading to straighten them. It was like she was in her own little world.

"Transfer student?" Kaylynn asked.

"Could be, she wouldn't be the first one. I wonder where she's from."

"It's hard to tell. She looks like she might be of mixed ethnicity."

"Hm...she does have pretty hair," Juniper said admiring the girl's dark brown tresses.

As if sensing that someone was staring at her, the girl lifted her head and turned to glare at Juniper and Kaylynn. Juniper lowered her head, staring down at her empty plate, but Kaylynn just glared back. Juniper tugged on her best friend's arm. "Stop staring," she hissed.

"She'd better watch herself," Kaylynn grumbled. "She'll learn soon enough that there are some people she can't intimidate. And you could take some lessons from me as well."

"I have no idea what you mean," Juniper said feigning ignorance. "Oh look, the Sorting is nearly done. Thank Merlin, I'm starving."

Kaylynn shook her head as the last first year was sorted into Ravenclaw. Professor McGonagall handed the Sorting Hat to the Deputy Headmaster and Herbology Professor and Head of Hufflepuff House, Professor Longbottom, who carried it out of the Great Hall before she turned to the students.

"Let the feast begin," she announced.

Like magic, food began appearing on all five tables. Juniper and Kaylynn forgot about the strange new girl for now and began loading up their plates. As Kaylynn was pouring herself some pumpkin juice, someone sitting to the left of her accidentally bumped her, causing her to spill her drink all down her front.

"Great," Juniper muttered. The girl apologized while Juniper took her wand from her pocket and began muttering the spell used to siphon stains out of clothing. It wasn't the first time she'd spilled something all over herself and it definitely wouldn't be the last. As Juniper ate, she ended up spilling ketchup on her skirt accidentally brushing her arm against her meatloaf and being forced to clean herself off. It wasn't as if she meant to be a messy eater. She tried to be neat, but sometimes a fork tipped here and there or she stumbled or someone bumped into her.

"Hey, Lamdar, Clayton, we have practice this Friday, seven o'clock. Be there in full uniform," Sean Amos, their seventh year Captain said.

Kaylynn saluted him. "Got it, boss."

"And don't call me boss," he added before turning back around to continue talking to the girl sitting across from him.

"Too bad this is his last year," Kaylynn said regretfully. "He deserves to hold that Quidditch Cup. Hell, we all do."

"I think that if we all play good games, it won't matter," Juniper said.

"Oh, don't you start with that," Kaylynn grumbled. "You could, at least, pretend you want to win."

Juniper could understand her friend's desire to win the Quidditch Cup. From what Juniper had seen by looking at the trophy cases, the last time Hufflepuff had won was about five years before she came to Hogwart's. But Juniper couldn't help it if she wasn't that focused on winning.

Luckily, Kaylynn forgot about Juniper just as Professor Longbottom was walking by heading back to the High Table. "Excuse me, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Lamdar?"

"Who is that girl over there?" she pointed to the unfamiliar girl.

"Her? That's Eileen Mariano. She was transferred here from Germany. We ended up letting her come here have a private sorting a week before the start of term."

"She doesn't look German."

Professor Longbottom chortled. "Well, I don't believe she's full German."

"Why did she transfer here?"

"You're a little nosy, aren't you?"

Kaylynn blinked innocently. "Wouldn't you also be curious if you were in our shoes?"

"Touche. The only thing I can say is that she was pulled out of her old school due to an incident there."

Kaylynn looked very interested now. "Huh, I wonder what happened for her to be pulled out and transferred here."

"You really shouldn't pry into other people's business," Professor Longbottom said. He smiled at the two girls before walking off to sit with the rest of the staff.

"Well, I'm officially curious now," Kaylynn said as she turned back to her plate.

"Er...it's probably not the best idea to pry," Juniper said quietly.

"Shush, I'm definitely asking her the first chance I get."

Kaylynn was being way too nosy for her own good, but Juniper kept her mouth shut, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was interested in this girl's story as well. Everyone soon finished eating and the plates were cleared away. Professor McGonagall stood up and began making the start of term announcements. They were about the same as every year, a listing of the general rules, something about Quidditch tryouts. There was also an announcement regarding the New Years Ball, which was held every year for third years and above.

"You're not spending the dance in the common room again like you did last year. I don't care if I have to drag you out by your hair. You're going," Kaylynn threatened.

Juniper made a mental note to find out of Permanent Sticking Charms could be used on actual people so that she could apply it to herself when the actual dance came around. Finally, the announcements ended and the students were excused to go to their common rooms. The prefects called for the first years to follow them. Juniper felt a weight around her shoulder and turned to see James, who had managed to wedge himself in between them.

"Why don't I walk you two lovely ladies to your common room?"

Juniper blushed and looked off to the side. "Um..that's okay we..." she began in a barely audible voice.

"Shut up, Juniper, and enjoy yourself," Kaylynn admonished before the three walked out of the Great Hall and towards the staircase that lead down into the kitchens and the location of the Hufflepuff common room."

"So, James, you going to the dance again this year?" Kaylynn asked.

"I'm debating it."

"I'm sure if you go, Juniper will go too." Juniper glared at her infuriating best friend silently willing her to shut her mouth.

James chuckled. "You're not going, Junie? Why not?"

Juniper toyed with her poorly kept fingernails. "It's not really my thing," she muttered.

"They're pretty fun, but you know, no one can force you to go." The three of them stopped near the set of barrels. "Here we are. Night, girls. I'll see you tomorrow."

While Kaylynn tapped the barrels in the correct order, Juniper watched as James disappeared around the corner. Would he go to the dance? And if so, who would he ask to go along? Could she even live with the thought of him asking someone else? But she still didn't want to go. Going meant dressing up and actually having to take time on her appearance. A few fellow Hufflepuffs were already inside the common room when the two girls stepped inside, including Eileen Mariano, who was sitting in the chair closest to the fireplace with the same book she'd been reading in the Great Hall.

Before Juniper could even try and stop her, Kaylynn approached her.

"Hey, excuse me?" she asked. Juniper mentally face-palmed at how direct and almost rude her friend sounded.

The girl looked up, fixing her dark brown eyes on the honey-blonde Hufflepuff. When she opened her mouth, she spoke in a rather cold tone and she didn't speak English, either.

"Was willst du?"*

Kaylynn appeared perplexed now and looked to Juniper for help who shrugged. She didn't even know how to say 'hello' or 'good-bye' in German.

"Yeah, anyways, I'm Kaylynn and this is Juniper. We heard you transferred here from Germany. What was up with your old school? Did something bad happen there? Did you kill someone?"

Juniper pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. One day her friend was going to be drop-kicked through a window for her big mouth and lack of tact. "Please stop, Lynn," she whispered, displaying some discomfort at her friend practically almost interrogating the new girl.

"Das geht dich nichts an. Ich weiß nicht wie neugierige Menschen."

"You know, I don't know what you're saying, but you're kind of being a bitch right now. We were just trying to make conversation with you."

Eileen didn't say anything, but looked down at her book again ignoring Kaylynn.

Kaylynn clenched her fists. "Ugh, I don't need this," she muttered as she turned around and stomped off towards the girls' dormitories. Juniper glanced at Eileen for a moment before following her best friend.

"Maybe she's just bitter about having to be transferred," Juniper suggested as she opened her trunk at the foot of her four-poster bed and began rummaging through her clothes for a pair of pajamas. "It wouldn't hurt to be a little more sympathetic."

"She didn't have to be so rude about it!" Kaylynn snapped. "The girl's lucky I didn't punch her in the face."

"Hm...I don't think she really did anything that would warrant being punched."

"Whatever." Kaylynn untucked her blouse and began to unbutton it in order to get dressed for bed. Juniper, who was more modest, chose to head to the lavatory, which was connected to the girls dorms through another tunnel. She accidentally ended up putting the baseball t-shirt on inside out and her cotton pants on backwards the first time. Once she had her pajamas on correctly, she spent some time washing her face and brushing her teeth before leaving the lavatory. Back in the dorm, Kaylynn was sitting cross-legged on the bed looking through her copy of **Quidditch Through The Ages**.

"Sorry I snapped at you," Kaylynn said as Juniper crossed the room and stuffed her robes back into her trunk.

"Don't worry about it," Juniper said smiling and sitting on her own bed. A few of the other fourth years were still awake and talking amongst one another, two of them had already gone to sleep, the curtains drawn around their beds. Juniper and Kaylynn spent the next hour talking quietly to each other. All the while, Eileen didn't show up, indicating that she was still in the common room. About half an hour after she went to bed, Juniper, being a light sleeper awoke when she heard the floorboards creak and someone cough as they came into the dorms. The curtains were pulled around her bed, but cracked enough so that she could see Eileen through them. Juniper turned over and tried her best to go back to sleep, but she couldn't help her underlying curiosity about this mysterious girl.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: For those of you wondering, yes I did go to Google Translate for the German dialogue. I don't speak the language, so I apologize if some of it is wrong. Translations in order: "What do you want?"**_

 _ **"That's none of your business. I don't like nosy people."**_


	5. Chapter 5: Apologies

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* * *

 **Chapter Five: Apologies**

Sunlight streamed through the windows of the fifth year Gryffindor boys dormitory that next morning. James, who was laying on his stomach, snoring lightly groaned and turned over on his back, staring up at the top of his four-poster bed before sitting up and parting the crimson curtain in order to set his feet on the floor. James' pajama top lay on the floor as well. He had a habit of taking his shirt off in the middle of the night because he usually got too hot. He picked it up and put it on the bed with the bundled up covers before standing up. A few of his fellow fifth years were already awake as well and most of them were already dressed, but there were a few, like Liam, who was still in bed snoring loudly.

"Can someone bring the bear out of hibernation?" Jordan asked as he buttoned his shirt.

"I guess I'll volunteer," Seth offered as he sat down on his bed to slip on his shoes. James also started getting dressed. There were two other fifth years, also in the process of getting dressed. Liam was the only one still asleep, which was considered normal. Just as James was tucking in his shirt, the door opened and Albus walked in clutching his stomach.

James looked at his younger brother with a hint of concern. "Hey, Albus, you all right?"

Albus shook his head. "My stomach kind of hurts. I think I ate too much last night."

Seth nodded understandingly. "You had four helpings. I would be more surprised if you didn't have a stomach-ache."

Jordan was less sympathetic. "Man up, you'll be fine if you walk it off."

James glared at his dark haired friend. "Shut up, Jordan," he growled before turning back to his younger brother. "I'll go with you to Madame Pomfrey. She'll have something for you to take."

"Mate, let him go on his own," Jordan complained. "Stop babying him."

"I'm not babying him," James said as calmly as possible. "I just want to make sure he gets to the Infirmary all right." There were times when James didn't know why he was friends with Jordan.

Jordan rolled his eyes, but said nothing. James finished dressing, then crammed his books into his satchel, grabbed his wand and led his brother out of the Gryffindor common room and to the Infirmary. Just as James predicted, Madame Pomfrey had a tonic for Albus and also a few words of chastisement.

"You'll remember not engorge yourself from now on, won't you?"

"Leave him alone, Madame Pomfrey," James said grinning cheekily. "He's a growing boy."

Albus scowled at his brother while Madame Pomfrey shook her head. The younger Potter made a face as he swallowed the tonic.

"If you don't want to taste this stuff again, I suggest you watch how much you eat," Madame Pomfrey said as she took away the goblet. "Now, I want you to just lay down and rest for a few hours. I'll be sure to notify your professors." She turned and walked away leaving James to make sure his brother was safely tucked into bed.

"Well, I guess I'll let you rest," James said clapping his brother lightly on the shoulder. "I hope you feel better," he said before standing up and leaving the Infirmary to let his brother sleep and went down to the Great Hall. Juniper was already sitting at the Hufflepuff tearing apart some toast. She happened to glance up randomly and see him. He gave her a smile and wave, which she returned. Kaylynn leaned over and whispered something to Juniper that James couldn't hear, but it made the Hufflepuff blush. James ruffled his hair making it messier than it usually was, then sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Seth.

"Look at you posturing over there," Liam teased with a smirk. "Who are you trying to impress?"

"Probably Juniper," Jordan said, smirking. "Why don't you go over there, Potter?"

James wanted to stop his friends from teasing him before it even started. "Pass me that plate of sausage over there, would you?"

"Seriously, mate, go after Jaenelle. They both look the same, so it shouldn't matter," Liam said as he shoveled hash-browns into his mouth. For someone who slept like he did, it was amazing that he was wide awake.

Seth decided to save the lovestruck Gryffindor from his friends' ruthless harassing and nudged James on the shoulder. "Hey, what class do we have first?"

Setting the toast down, James reached into his bag that was on the floor beside him and dug out his schedule and perused it while picking up his toast again and nibbling it, causing a few crumbs to fall onto the parchment. "It looks like we have History of Magic with the Ravenclaws, first."

Liam groaned. "Why that class? I swear, I'm hoping I fail my O.W.L.s so that I can get out of that class next year."

The other guys muttered their agreement. History of Magic, taught by Professor Binns, the only ghost on the staff, was dreadfully boring and most students used the class in order to catch up on their sleep or pass notes back and forth while their teacher usually droned on and on about important dates in history. It definitely wasn't a favorite of anyone's, unless you were a crazed history fanatic who liked that kind of stuff.

The boys ate as slowly as possible, dreading having to sit through an hour and a half of something they cared nothing about, but they couldn't delay the inevitable and soon forced themselves out of their seats and headed to class.

* * *

Juniper stared at James as he left the Great Hall. She picked up what she thought was her goblet of orange juice and was about to bring it to her lips when Kaylynn snapped her fingers in front of her.

"Hey, you know you're about to drink sugar," she said.

Juniper blinked and looked down at what was in her hand. Sure enough, it was the sugar container. "Hm...how did I do that?" she said almost absently setting the sugar back down.

"Because you were undressing James in your mind," the brown-eyed Hufflepuff smirked.

Juniper felt her face become warm. "I-I was not!" she protested. Yet now, thanks to her friend, she now had an image of James without his shirt on. She mentally slapped herself forcing herself to think about something else.

"I bet he has a nice body," Kaylynn said as she finished off the last of her sausage.

"Lynn!" Juniper buried her face in her hands, embarrassed.

Kaylynn chuckled while her friend looked like she wanted to crawl under the table and die. Fortunately, they had to rush to Herbology before they were both late. They managed to make it in time before the greenhouse doors closed. They would be working with the fourth year Gryffindors today. Juniper noticed that Albus wasn't present and wondered where he was. Rose raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?" Professor Longbottom asked, pausing his discussion on Flutterby bushes and focusing his attention on the red-head.

"Where is Albus?" she asked, clearly thinking the same thing that Juniper was.

"Mr. Potter went to the infirmary for a stomach-ache, he'll be all right after he gets some rest," Professor Longbottom said smiling reassuringly before continuing with his lesson. "Now, today we're just going to be pruning the Flutterby bushes. You may work alone or in pairs and you have until the end of the lesson. The person or group who manages to prune the most bushes will get a prize." He winked at them all.

There was chatter while the students grabbed a set of shears. Juniper chose to work with Kaylynn as her friend was very skilled in Herbology.

"Excuse me, could you pass me those sheers over there?" Eileen asked, her German accent thick.

Kaylynn lifted an eyebrow. "So, you can speak English."

Juniper lightly nudged her friend and handed the sheers to Eileen who muttered a quiet 'thanks' and turned to the Flutterby Bush in front of her. Many students worked in pairs, but there were some who worked alone, Eileen being one of them. Aside from that handful of words directed to Juniper, she didn't say anything and seemed focused, purely, on the care of the bushes.

"I wonder what happened at her old school to make her act so cold," Kaylynn whispered to Juniper.

"I, honestly, don't think that's the case," Juniper said quietly. "There's a big chance that she's not happy about being transferred. I mean, how would you feel if you were all of a sudden pulled out of Hogwarts and thrust somewhere else where you didn't know anyone?"

"But she still didn't have to be so obscene." Yet, Kaylynn's hardened expression softened slightly as she glanced at Eileen. "Crap, I really acted like a total bitch, didn't I?"

Juniper winced. "I hate to say it, but yeah, you did."

Kaylynn set the shears she was holding down and rubbed her temples. "Maybe I should apologize after class is finished."

"That might be the best. You kind of have a habit about jumping to conclusions about people before you get to know them."

Kaylynn tossed a small twig to the ground. "Yeah, but there are some people who I just want to turn into a pig or something along that nature, and you can't tel me that there are some students here that don't deserve it."

"You don't know Human Transfiguration, yet," Juniper pointed out as she went to snap off a perfectly good branch, but Kaylynn grabbed her arm.

"Watch what you're doing!"

Juniper lowered her shears and looked down at the bush, which quivered slightly. "Sorry," she said more to the bush than to Kaylynn even though the plant clearly couldn't talk.

"I swear, Junie, one day you're going to end up snipping off one of your fingers."

"That would be unfortunate. I'm especially fond of my pinkie." Juniper's lips twitched slightly before the two girls burst out laughing.

"Ladies, you're falling behind," Professor Longbottom warned as he passed by them while patrolling around the classroom.

"Sorry, professor," Kaylynn and Juniper mumbled.

Towards the end of class, it was Rose and the boy she was working with who won the small contest. They each received a pack of six chocolate frogs. The students all filed out in order to go to their next class. Professor Longbottom had gone to his office to get some things needed for his next class. Juniper and Kaylynn lingered behind.

Kaylynn always had trouble apologizing and hated realizing that she was wrong. So, it was no surprise to Juniper when she hesitated.

"You'll feel ten times better if you do apologize. If you didn't want to, you wouldn't have suggested it."

Eileen started to leave the greenhouse when Kaylynn called out to her.

"Hey, wait." Kaylynn stepped forward as Eileen turned around to face the girl who had been so tactless and rude last night.

"I don't want to be late to my next class," she said narrowing her eyes at Kaylynn.

Kaylynn rubbed the back of her neck and glanced at Juniper who smiled encouragingly. The honey-haired Hufflepuff took a deep breath.

"Listen, I'm sorry for the way I behaved last night. I was basically a total bitch and I really shouldn't have come at you like that and interrogated you. It's none of my business what happened at your old school and I had no right to try and pry into your personal life, especially when I don't know you."

The dark skinned girl just looked at Kaylynn for a moment. Juniper stood on the sidelines and watched, her breath hitched. What would happen now? Oh, she hoped that Eileen wouldn't say anything that might upset Kaylynn again. Why did this girl just keep staring at Kaylynn, was she contemplating doing something in order to get back at her for the way she'd acted last night?

"Your apology seemed very sincere, so I accept it," Eileen said simply.

Juniper let out the breath she'd been holding in a loud whoosh of air. The other two girls looked at her as the smaller Hufflepuff blushed lightly like she always did when people stared at her. Once Juniper gained her composure, she spoke.

"Well, we have Double Potions next with the Ravenclaws. We can show you the dungeons if you'd like," she offered.

Eileen shook her head. "No thanks, I have to head to the lavatory first, so I'll find it on my own."

But Eileen did allow the two of them to walk with her back up to the castle, although the three of them didn't really say anything to each other. At least, now, Kaylynn wasn't ready to rip the girl's head off and Eileen seemed less standoffish. When they were inside once again, Eileen headed to the nearest girls' lavatory while Juniper and Kaylynn went down into the dungeons for their first Potions lesson of the fourth year.


	6. Chapter 6: A New Tutor

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* * *

 **Chapter Six: A New Tutor**

"Morning ladies," Professor Slughorn said as Juniper and Kaylynn entered the classroom and went to stand next to a table with a few other students. "How is your family, Miss Clayton?"

"They're fine, sir," Juniper said as she pulled out her Potions book and laid it on the table. She knew that the only reason Professor Slughorn inquired about her family and seemed friendly with her was because her father had helped solve an embezzlement case a few years back before Juniper was even enrolled in Hogwart's. It was in the newspapers and her father had gained quite a bit of fame and was even promoted. Juniper's father had thought it was a small feat and felt he didn't deserve any praise or rewards as he was only doing what was right.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to enjoy that Quidditch Match between the Harpies and the Cannons this summer," he said with a hint of regret.

"I'm sorry, sir, but my parents had to work a lot this summer. We didn't really get much of a chance to do anything."

"Quite all right, quite all right. I do hope you to see you at one of my dinners this year. You can't keep avoiding them forever." He wagged his finger as he feigned scolding her before turning to the class. The door opened once again and Eileen slipped in.

"Welcome Miss Mariano, please don't make it a habit of cutting it close each time."

Eileen nodded as she set her satchel on the table. She was standing near Avery Burke and Michelle Voras. It was the only available space left, so Eileen didn't exactly have many choices.

"Now then, today we're going to be learning to brew a rather fun little concoction known as The Girding Potion. Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what this potion does?"

Avery's hand shot up and Professor Slughorn addressed her. "It is a potion that will give the consumer extra endurance for a substantial amount of weeks. It's a very powerful potion and the maximum dosage is no more than two small vials. More than that could have serious consequences."

"Well, you just answered all of my questions in one go. Excellent, ten points to Ravenclaw." Avery smirked rather priggishly in the direction of Juniper table before facing the front of the class again.

Kaylynn leaned over to whisper to Juniper. "Do you think anyone would be too upset if I drowned her in her own cauldron?"

"I don't think you'd need the Ministry to get you on attempted murder," Juniper muttered. "Just ignore her, it's not worth it."

After a few minutes more discussion, Professor Slughorn set everyone to work. There was chatter as they set up their cauldrons and lit the flames underneath. Juniper and Kaylynn went to one of the sinks at the back of the classroom in order to fill their cauldrons with water. They passed the table where Avery, Michelle, and Eileen were setting up their own supplies. Juniper heard Avery speaking to Eileen.

"I know everything there is to know about everyone," she said proudly. "I can tell you who is worth knowing as a friend and who isn't. There are students here who just aren't worth your time."

"Ugh, there she goes trying to turn someone else against us," Kaylynn muttered in disgust as she stepped out of the way to let Juniper fill her cauldron. "How she can sleep at night is beyond me."

Juniper remained silent, she was curious as to what Eileen would say. Would she agree to Avery's offer? Or was she much smarter than that?"

"We can be best friends," Michelle said leaning over to smirk at Eileen. "Stick with Avery and no one will be able to touch you."

Avery ran her fingers through her rich black hair. "That's right, there are many people who will just bring you down. Take Juniper Clayton for example. She may look like the typical sweet and innocent shy type, but she's ruthless. Her family has been threatening and harassing my family for years now. In fact, her father has threatened to kill my father on more than one occasion."

"What proof do you have?" Eileen asked not looking up from her book as she studied the ingredients.

"Huh?" Avery and Michelle looked at each other then back at Eileen.

"I said, what proof do you have? All I have to go on is your word. How do I know that what you're saying is true?"

Juniper relaxed slightly and walked back to the table. It seemed that Eileen wouldn't be so easily swayed by Avery. Juniper turned on the flame under her cauldron and allowed the water to heat up to a boil before she started adding ingredients.

"My potion isn't turning pink for some reason," Kaylynn said peering down into her cauldron. "I know I added the doxy eggs." She picked up one of the small bottles and perused it. "Oh...this definitely isn't doxy eggs." The blackened potion began to quickly bubble and rise to the surface, spilling over onto the table and eating through most of Kaylynn's cauldron and the wood. The students at the table backed away quickly so that the acidic concoction wouldn't touch them.

"Don't panic, don't panic" Professor Slughorn strode forward, whipping out his wand and waving it. The mess disappeared and the table and the cauldron was set right.

Kaylynn winced. "Sorry, professor."

"No harm done, just try to be a little more careful next time and make sure you look carefully at each ingredient."

The rest of the class went by without much of a hitch. Juniper also failed to correctly brew her potion as she'd forgotten to add in the fairy wings and flying seahorses, but she hadn't burned a hole in the table. Those who had gotten the potion correct received no homework, but those who didn't were assigned an essay that was due before the next class.

There was about thirty minutes before lunch, so the students had a break before then. Juniper and Kaylynn started to head back to the Hufflepuff common room. They wanted to get in a little bit of private Quidditch practice before eating, but as they approached the staircase that would lead to their dorms, a chubby sixth year Ravenclaw approached them.

"Juniper Clayton? Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office. The password is Gumdrops."

Juniper looked at Kaylynn. Why was she already being called in on the first day of term? Had she done something wrong that she didn't realize? Juniper thanked the Ravenclaw and told Kaylynn to go on without her before heading up the various moving staircases to the Headmistress's office. She stopped in front of the gargoyle statue and gave the password. The stone gargoyle sprang to life and jumped out of the way, giving Juniper access to the stairs, which she ascended.

The young Hufflepuff wrang her hands, causing them to become rather sweaty before she knocked on the door. "Come in," Professor McGonagall's voice called. Juniper opened the door and stepped inside. Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk. All over the walls, the past Headmasters snoozed, including the former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Juniper had often wondered what kind of man he'd been. He could almost pass for someone's elderly grandfather. But this time, Juniper didn't look at the Headmaster. Instead, her eyes fell upon one of the wooden chairs placed in front of Professor McGonagall's desk.

"James, what are you doing here?"

He grinned cheekily at Juniper before Professor McGonagall asked her to sit down in the other chair. She did as she was told, gripping the arms and nervously running her fingers over the grooves.

"You can't be so nervous each time you're called into my office," Professor McGonagall childed gently. "You're not in any trouble."

Juniper relaxed, but only slightly. "Then what am I in here for?" she asked.

"I've been going over some of your files. You've been struggling quite a bit in some of your classes over the past few years, the most prominent being Transfiguration and Potions."

Juniper lowered her head. So, she was about to receive a lecture on the importance of schoolwork. "I try the best I can, but I just don't understand a lot of it half the time."

"I am not lecturing you, I am merely trying to tell you that you need help. Just because you struggle a bit doesn't mean that you're a bad witch. From what I have seen, you're very skilled in Charms and rather fair in Defense Against The Dark Arts. But I think it would be best for you to have a tutor. That's why Mr. Potter is in here. He's always done well in the classes that you are struggling in and he knows the material, which is why I think he could help you."

Juniper glanced at James. Because they were a year apart, it was hard for them to hang out together at Hogwart's, except on the weekends or during breaks. Juniper hated the thought of having a tutor, but if James was the one helping her, then she'd get to spend more time with him, even if it did involve having her nose stuck in a few books.

Yet, there was that doubt again. "But, professor, I'm not sure if it would help. I mean, it's hard for me to get a decent mark on my homework papers."

"That's because you procrastinate until the last minute and always turn in something that's hurriedly written."

Juniper blanched, while that was true, she didn't like being reminded of her failings.

"You come from a long line of some of the most prestigious witches and wizards. I would think that you'd want to follow in their footsteps."

Juniper had heard stories of her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents when they were at Hogwarts and they'd all been very bright young witches and wizards, quickly rising to the top, academically and then going on to lead prominent and successful lives. But it seemed like that tradition was broken with Juniper. Chances were that her future involved cleaning the bogs at the Ministry.

"Under my tutelage, you'll do great," James said confidently. "A few tutoring sessions with me and you'll be able to turn a desk into a horse or brew a Wit-Sharpening Potion with your eyes closed."

"Why don't you focus on helping her with the smaller stuff, first, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall berated.

"Got it, professor." He grinned cheekily at the Headmistress who shook her head, but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly and lifted the lid of one of the small candy bowls on her desk. "Would either of you care for a lemon drop?"

Juniper looked at James muddled. "A what?"

"It's a type of Muggle candy."

"Professor Dumbledore was fond of them back when he was Headmaster," Professor McGonagall explained. "I have to say that they grew on me, as well."

The two teens each plucked a piece of the hard candy from the bowl and thanked the Headmistress before leaving the office with James holding the door open for Juniper to let her out first. The two of them walked down the stairs together before stopping.

"So, do you want to sit down and we can go over a schedule a little later?" James inquired.

Standing this close to him, Juniper's cheeks developed a very faint pink tinge. Why did he have to be so near, and why did he have to smell good? She wondered what kind of shampoo he used. Even though his hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in months, she still found the overall look rather appealing and longed to run her fingers through the dark locks. She silently told her body parts to behave.

"Juniper?"

She looked up at him, broken away from her fantasies. "Huh, what?"

James smirked and reached over to playfully tug at her ponytail. "Daydreaming again, aren't we? Good thing we weren't walking or else you might've fallen down some stairs and I would've had to catch you. Not that I would have minded as I like breaking your fall."

Juniper bit down on her bottom lip, smiling and squealing inwardly. He was utterly adorable and she have just stared at him all day, even though he might find such a thing disturbing. "Oh, right, the schedule. Er...well, we could talk after dinner this evening."

James nodded in agreement. "Sure, we'll meet outside in the library."

With that out of the way, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff headed down to The Great Hall. Upon entering, the two separated to go to their own tables. Kaylynn was already sitting at the table with her mouth full of turkey and swiss cheese trying to talk to Marianne Forrester at the same time. Marianne took her bag off the bench so that Juniper could sit down beside her.

"What took you so long?" Kaylynn asked. "Why did you walk in here with James?" Her eyes then widened and she began exclaiming rather loudly. "You snogged him, didn't you?"

A few nearby students turned to stare at her and Juniper sank down in her seat. "N-No!" she denied.

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Stop teasing her, Kaylynn," Marianne scolded lightly.

Juniper explained what had really happened in Professor McGonagall's office making it very clear to both of them that she definitely didn't snog James.

"Well hey, this is great!" Kaylynn said excitedly when Juniper was finished talking. "It'll give you a good chance to really get closer to him!"

"We're just friends, Lynn, He's only helping me with my schoolwork, that's all. Nothing is going to come of this. Besides, chances are, he has a girlfriend."

"He doesn't," Marianne said. "He's definitely a free agent."

"Yes, but if you don't make your move soon, then that might all change." Kaylynn poured some more pumpkin juice into her goblet.

"I doubt a few tutoring sessions would help my love life or lack of one," Juniper said taking a turkey sandwich from one of the platters. "Besides, I'm too young to have a boyfriend."

"You're just making excuses," Kaylynn said with a sigh. "You really need to stop constantly putting yourself down like that. You're one of the prettiest girls I know and you're nice, unlike some of the other slags that go to this school. You should give yourself more credit."

Juniper knew that Kaylynn was just trying to make her feel better, but it didn't help. There were other girls that would be more better suited for James. He didn't like her in the way that she wanted him to, deep down. He was just being nice, that's all.

"If you miss this opportunity, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life."

Kaylynn's words lingered in Juniper's mind. Why did she constantly second guess herself? Was it because she didn't think she was good enough for anyone? If James did like her, what exactly did he see in her? There was a chance she would lose sleep over her long list of doubts tonight.


	7. Chapter 7: I'm Fine

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* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Someone pointed out a few inconsistencies that I missed while going over the chapter, so I ended up making a few small edits. It doesn't really change the plot of the chapter too much. I'm sorry for the mishap!**_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: I'm Fine**

James had found it hard to believe when he'd been requested to go up to Professor McGonagall's office to discuss his new job as Juniper's tutor. When asked why she considered him, the Headmistress told him that he was one of the only ones that could, most likely, help her understand the material and that Juniper would benefit more from an older student, who was also a good friend, rather than someone she barely knew. James was eager to help her, especially if it meant hanging out with her more often.

It was now ten minutes after dinner and James had just come into the library to wait for Juniper. She'd said that she would meet him there after visiting the lavatory. A few other students were there as well, including Juniper's twin sister, Jaenelle. She looked up from her books and smiled at him. He sat down across from her.

"A lot of homework?" he asked.

"You have no idea. It's only the first day of term, but I've gotten homework in three out of my four classes I had today, and all of them are essays. I'm trying to get them done right away so I don't have to worry about them. By the way, what are you doing here? I don't see any books on you."

"I'm meeting Juniper here."

Jaenelle's hazel eyes lit up in realization. "Oh, that's right. She told me about you tutoring her. You sure you're up for the challenge?" she asked vexingly.

James chuckled and nervously ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Sure, I've tutored a few students before and it's not really that hard." Yet, tutoring Juniper would be a different story, for he'd be looking at her for an extended amount of time. She didn't realize it, but she was more appealing than she gave herself credit for.

"Hey, James," a voice purred. The Gryffindor was pulled away from his thoughts by Avery standing at the table.

"What do you want, Burke?" Jaenelle demanded.

"Mind your own business, Clayton," Avery spat before smiling sweetly at James. "So, James, I'm thinking about trying out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me out to the Quidditch field and give me a few pointers? I'd really appreciate it." She placed her hand on his arm and lightly fingered the material of his shirt. "What do you say?"

"I'm actually waiting for someone," James said pulling away from her. He didn't want to be mean to her, but he also didn't want anything to do with her either.

"That's right, Burke, so why don't you go sink your claws into someone else? We want nothing to do with you," Jaenelle spat

"Shut up," Avery hissed. "You have no room to talk. Don't you dare judge me when you're going around snogging every guy in the school."

Jaenelle stood abruptly, knocking her chair over in the process. It fell with a loud clatter causing the students nearby to look up and alerting Madame Pince. "What is going on here?" she asked briskly walking over. "Miss Clayton, Miss Burke, I will not have you disrupting the students trying to study in my library, please leave!"

The two girls put away their wands that they'd drawn, but still glared at each other with the utmost hatred, before leaving the library and going their separate ways. Madame Pince peered over her glasses at James.

"Er...I'm waiting for someone," he said. She turned and walked away, passing Juniper as she came into the library.

"What's wrong with Jaenelle?" she asked. "I just saw her coming from here and she looked mad. I tried asking her what happened, but she wouldn't say anything."

"Oh, um...she was upset because she couldn't get a teacher to give her permission to check out a book in the Restricted Session." Why did he lie to Juniper like that? Did he not want her to know that Avery had flirted with him and Jaenelle had almost tried to hex her?

"What book?"

"Huh?"

"What book did she want?"

Crap, he was caught now. He couldn't just think of the name of a random book at the drop of a hat. She sat down across from him, laying her satchel on the floor next to her chair. "You're not a very good liar, James. Plus Jaenelle wouldn't get upset over a book that she couldn't have."

"You got me there. I was just talking to her and Avery came in and started flirting with me. She got upset and tried to hex her and Madame Pince basically made them leave."

"I see." Juniper tugged at the hem of her shirt and looked down at the wooden grooves in the table, as if she was all of a sudden interested in them. "What did she want?"

"She wanted me to help her with her flying so that she could try out for the Ravenclaw team. I told her that I was too busy."

"Avery is already a good flyer on her own. I don't know why she wants to try out for Quidditch now, when she had the opportunity to try out two years ago in second year or even during her third year."

James shrugged. "Who knows?" He rarely talked to Avery unless it was the weekend, and even then he only exchanged a small handful of words. This wasn't the first time she'd flirted with him, but then again, she flirted with a lot of boys. It's just who she was. "I have no idea what goes on inside a girl's head ninety percent of the time."

Juniper laughed lightly. "I guess it would help if there was a manual on the female psychosis."

"I know, right? Anyways, let's get down to business." He thought it best to shift the subject to the tutoring schedule. He could see that Juniper didn't like talking about Avery. He shifted around in his bag and brought out some parchment, but couldn't find something to write the schedule down with. "Crap, I must've left my quill in the common room when I was starting my Transfiguration essay earlier before dinner."

"It's fine, I have one here." Juniper produced the quill and ink bottle and set them on the table.

They spent the next fifteen minutes discussing a possible schedule and decided to try and meet, at least, three times a week. It was a rough schedule and they agreed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting next wee for now, and perhaps once on the weekends.

"We should definitely set the times too," Juniper reminded him.

"Right, how about after dinner?" James suggested. "We'll meet here on the prescribed days and work for, maybe two hours. If that's fine with you."

"Sure, it's perfect. But are you sure you're up to it? I do have trouble grasping some things."

"Hey, what did I say earlier in McGonagall's office? You're in good hands." He grinned impishly at her.

Juniper shook her head. "Let's not get too cocky until you actually tutor me," she lectured good-naturedly.

* * *

They talked a little more about the schedule before Juniper said she was going to go back to her common room and get an early night as the first day of term had had its toll on her. James stood up. "I'll walk you back," he offered.

"Oh, no...you don't have to do that."

He grinned. "Now, now, when a boy offers to walk you back to your common room or anywhere, you don't say no. Besides, you want me to, don't you?"

Was she just that easy to read? Yes, she wanted him to walk her, but she also didn't want to take time away from anything he needed to do, not even two minutes. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to argue with him, she allowed him to walk her back to her common room.

"By the way, when's your first Quidditch Practice?" he asked.

"Oh, er...the captain said this Friday."

"I'll be there to watch. Hang out with me tomorrow during break?" She nodded and he bid her good night before walking back down the long corridor. She watched him go, wishing that she could be more bold. Avery would probably have no problem letting her desires known. Juniper wondered if James secretly liked the Ravenclaw. A lot of boys did. It didn't help that Juniper felt frumpy ninety-five percent of the time, especially when compared to a girl like that. With a sigh, she entered the common room. A few other Hufflepuffs were scattered around in small groups. Kaylynn was beside the fireplace with a bottle of bright green nail polish open beside her and was painting her toenails. The blonde looked up when Juniper came in.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"It was fine." She opted against telling her friend about Avery. "It won't do any good though. I'm doomed to fail."

"You're not going to fail. You really need to stop putting yourself down like that."

Juniper sat down on one of the sofas, slouching a bit. "I'm not putting myself down," she protested.

"Trust me, you are. You're very smart, you just don't have much confidence."

"I have confidence, just not in the right things," Juniper said.

"Look, I love you, Junie, but I don't like the fact that you're always coming up with reasons why you're not good enough for this or that. Stop having these pity parties and learn to be proud of what you can do. And what you can't do, learn."

Juniper nodded, looking down at her fingernails. She hated being scolded, even by her best friend. Yet, Kaylynn stood up and walked awkwardly to the sofa so as not to mess up her toenails and hugged Juniper. "Sorry I got onto you. I just want you to gain more self-esteem. Trust me, you'd be so much happier if you did." She let go of Juniper. "Now, want me to paint your nails? I have other colors, too."

Juniper thought for a moment. "Do you have navy blue?" she asked. Kaylynn chuckled and the two girls went to the dorms in order to, well, be girls. Being a teenager with raging hormones was hard, but being a teenage witch with the same problems was even harder. But Juniper knew that this was only the beginning.

* * *

The first week was now about halfway over with it being Wednesday afternoon. Juniper only had two classes on that day and they were electives, Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. She'd just gotten out of the latter. Unfortunately, it had started raining, so the students were drenched by the time they got back inside. Many of them headed back to the dorms to shower and change.

"I'll just go to the lavatory real quick," Juniper told Kaylynn. She was cold and wet, her robes weighing her down.

"Sure, I'll meet you back in the common room," Kaylynn said. Juniper went to the nearby lavatory to use it. As she was coming out of the stalls, the door opened and Avery walked in, followed by three of her friends, Michelle, Riley, and Cheri. They stopped laughing when they saw her. Avery stepped in front of the group, her hands on her perfect hips.

"Stinking up the loo, aren't we, Clayton?" she pretended to sniff the air and gave a look of disgust. "Do you girls smell that?"

"Ugh," Riley agreed. "It's making me sick." She smirked at Juniper who was eyeing the exit. Michelle caught her and pointed her wand at the door muttering, "Colloportus."

"Where are you going?" Avery asked in a poisonous honey tone. "We just want to have a little fun with you. You're like our own little toy."

Juniper slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand, but Avery was quick. "Expelliarmus!" Her wand flew out of her hand and landed in the Ravenclaw's.

"That's not very nice. Ladies, I think we should teach Miss Clayton here a lesson."

Without her wand, Juniper was defenseless. Yet, even though she wasn't physically strong, she still put up her fists, which made the three girls laugh.

"Oh, are you going to try and throw a punch now?" Avery taunted. "Go on then, give it a go!"

Juniper hesitated for a split second, before thrusting her fist forward, but Avery, expecting it, pointed her wand at the girl and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Juniper's entire body became rigid and she fell to the floor, unable to move even her forefinger. Avery stood over her and placed her foot on Juniper's abdomen in a dominating manner.

"Believe me, this is nothing as to what I could really do to you. I'm showing you mercy this time," she said before bringing her foot back and kicking Juniper hard in the side. Even though the Hufflepuff was frozen, she still felt the unbearable pain that spread throughout her body. Avery's friends also took a turn to kick her before her wand was thrown in one on the toilets and the group left the bathroom, laughing over what they'd done. Juniper lay there, staring straight ahead. Avery's hatred of Juniper and her family was almost overwhelming. Juniper had dealt with bullies before in the past, but Avery took it to another level. She prayed on the weak and Juniper was number one on her list.

Juniper set her mind on attempting to use a Summoning Charm to call her wand back to her, but as she couldn't speak and knew absolutely nothing about non-verbal spells, it was futile. Juniper had no idea how long she lay there, the pain in her side growing worse and worse. It was then that the door opened and in walked Eileen. The Hufflepuff stopped when she saw Juniper. She pulled out her wand. "Finite!"

Juniper's body relaxed and she was able to move again. Eileen extended a hand to help her up. She winced as she stood. "What happened?" Eileen asked.

"It's nothing, I'm fine. It was just an accident," Juniper insisted, not wanting to tell a girl that she barely knew that she was ganged up on by four girls. Now able to move, she retrieved her wand and used the sink to clean the toilet water from it.

"It doesn't look like an accident to me." Eileen fixed her dark eyes on Juniper, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "You're holding your side and are having trouble standing up straight."

"It's nothing, I just fell, that's all." Juniper wished she was a better liar, but she most certainly wasn't.

"I've dealt with better liars than you. Falling is one thing, but a petrification spell as well? Wands don't exactly spring up and cast spells on their own unless there's someone behind them."

"I'm fine. What are you doing in here anyway? I thought you'd be back in the common room reading, or something."

"I was in the Infirmary getting a Pepper-Up Potion from Madame Pomfrey so that I wouldn't get a cold from being outside. I hate being sick."

"A lot of people hate that," Juniper muttered.

"Don't change the subject. Is this the first time you've been attacked?"

"Huh? Who says I was attacked?" Juniper's eyes shifted away guiltily.

"Everything about your whole demeanor right now says so. You're trying to avoid the subject."

"It doesn't matter, I'm fine," Juniper insisted. "I just need to sit down somewhere comfortable, that's all."

"You should head to the Infirmary."

Juniper sighed. "Listen, I hate to say this to you, but please mind your own business. If I say that I'm fine, then I'm fine." She walked past Eileen and left the bathroom. She didn't want to head to the common room at the moment. In fact, she didn't want to be around anyone, not even Kaylynn, who would undoubtedly realize something was wrong. So, she headed to the one place where she knew she wouldn't be disturbed, The Room of Requirement.


	8. Chapter 8: I Don't Need Help

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* * *

 **Chapter Eight: I Don't Need Help**

The rain started to slowly let up about an hour after classes ended. Seven Gryffindors strode out onto the Quidditch field, led by team captain, James Potter. Today was the day of their first Quidditch practice of the year, as well as Quidditch tryouts. Since one of their Beaters had graduated last year, they needed a replacement. There were already a few eager Gryffindors out on the field, including Lily, and James' cousin, Hugo. Both were in the same year, and both desperately wanted to be on the team.

"All right, everyone, we're just going to run some basic formations, see how well you all do with our other Beater!" he said, indicating his brother, Albus." He called in the first Gryffindor, a rather burly fifth year who definitely had the right build for a Beater. However, once he was up in the air, it was clear that flying wasn't his forte and he ended up flying into one of the goal posts on the left side of the field, forcing him to be sent to the Infirmary to contend with a broken nose.

The next two candidates were skilled flyers, but had a definite problem with teamwork from what James could see. One of them got into a heated argument with James, resulting in him being kicked off of the field, and the other one attempted to hit a Bludger at Lucy Marlon, one of the Chasers. Fortunately, his aim was off, so she didn't get hurt. However, despite a few bad seeds in the bunch, some had a lot of potential. The next four that tried out were very talented, including Lily and Hugo. However, it seemed like Hugo had a stronger swinging arm than Lily. In the end, it was a tough decision, but James ended up choosing his cousin.

"This is bullshit!" Nick Ravini, a hopeful Gryffindor fifth year shouted, tossing his broom onto the ground. "You're only just picking him because he's family!"

James glared coldly at him. "That has nothing to do with it. He had the stronger arm and the better swing out of anyone here. He earned it fair and square."

"Great job, cuz!" Lily exclaimed pulling Hugo into a hug. "You definitely deserve it."

"You did well too, Lil," James said praising his younger sister. "If you want, we can put you in as a reserve Beater."

"Oh, sure! Put your little sister on the reserve team! These tryouts were clearly fixed. What did she do? Sleep with the entire team?" Nick demanded.

James strode over angrily, drawing his wand, but Lily beat him to it. "Flipendo!" she shouted. Nick was blasted back very forcefully. The impact he made on the ground knocked the wind out of him. She approached, her wand still pointed at him. "Don't get on my bad side," she growled threateningly.

Nick opened his mouth to retort, but Lily muttered, "Langlock," glueing his tongue to the roof of his mouth and preventing him from speaking. He made a few retching noises as he stood and stumbled off the Quidditch Field.

"Well, there go ten points from Gryffindor," Hugo muttered, his arms folded across his chest.

"He deserved it," Lily insisted. "What kind of person would insist that I'd sleep with people jut to get my way? Especially when two of those people are my brothers. It's sickening."

"Still, Lily, you should watch your temper," Albus warned. "It's going to get you into big trouble."

She shrugged. "He provoked me and I wasn't about to stand there and take it." She turned to her eldest brother. "By the way, I'd definitely love to be the reserve Beater."

James grinned, happy that his sister had agreed. If there were three Beaters on a Quidditch team, instead of just two, he was sure he would have chosen her as one of the main players, and not just back-up. "Great, it's not mandatory, but you're welcome to stay and switch out with Hugo every few minutes to get some practice in."

"I'd love to, but I promised Laura I'd help her with her Arithmancy paper." She waved good-bye to the team and gave her cousin a congratulatory high-five before leaving the Quidditch Pitch. Once she was gone, James got started with the real work.

The practice went very smoothly. The Gryffindors now had a full team again and everyone worked well with each other. "Right!" James exclaimed once practice was over. "Good job, everyone! Keep that up and we'll cream Ravenclaw next Friday!"

There was a great deal of chatter as everyone headed to the showers to wash up before dinner.

* * *

Juniper remained in the Room of Requirement for a few hours. It was made to look like a small livingroom/library. Juniper was curled up on the loveseat with a book open on her lap. The pain in her side had lingered for a long time, but now it was finally letting up, slowly. She dreaded looking and seeing if there was a bruise. When she finally checked her watch, she noticed that there was ten minutes until dinner. The Hufflepuff stood, wincing slightly as pain shot through her side, but it wasn't unbearable. She was sure that she'd be able to move around just fine without alerting anyone as to what had happened.

She peered out of the door, making sure no one was coming and quietly slipped out, before walking as briskly as she could down the long corridor while simultaneously practicing not to show pain.

"Where have you been?" Kaylynn asked as Juniper sat down and began to pile food onto her plate. "I've looked everywhere for you."

"I was in the Room of Requirement because I wanted a very quiet place to hang out," Juniper said non-chalantly.

"That's what the library is for," Kaylynn pointed out handing her best friend a pitcher of pumpkin juice. She then got a good look at Juniper. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."

"I must be coming down with a cold. I'll visit Madame Pomfrey after dinner for some Pepper-Up Potion." Juniper could have sworn she felt a pair of eyes on her and glanced to the right, down the table and saw Eileen staring at her. Juniper looked at her, silently begging her not to say anything about her suspicions. The new girl turned away to focus, once again, on her potatoes.

Kaylynn lifted an eyebrow at her friend before taking another helping of seasoned string beans. "I kind of get the feeling you're avoiding telling me something."

"Don't be silly." Juniper forced a cheerful smile, but Kaylynn didn't seem convinced. Still, she didn't pry, allowing the smaller Hufflepuff to eat her food in silence.

* * *

Later that evening, after dinner, Juniper stood in the lavatory that connected to the Hufflepuff girls' dorm in front of the mirror. The door was closed and there was no one with her. She decided it was time to assess the damage and began to unbutton her blouse before slipping it off. Standing there in her bra, she gasped at what she saw. A nasty bruise ran all the way up her side along with the markings from the Relashio curses and Stinging Hexes. When she barely touched them, she bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out. This caused the pain to come back in full force. Tears of anger streamed down her cheeks, yet she still didn't want to go to Madame Pomfrey and have to explain what happened. She refused to let anyone know that she couldn't defend herself.

The doorknob rattled and Juniper scrambled to put her top back on, but the injury hindered her, and before she could slip her arms through even one of the sleeves, the door opened and Kaylynn came in, carrying some of her toiletries. She froze and everything clattered to the floor when she saw Juniper.

"What happened?" she cried, pointing at Juniper's side.

"It's nothing," Juniper insisted impatiently. "I just fell down some stairs, that's all."

"You'd have several bruises if you fell down some stairs. You were attacked, weren't you?" the blonde demanded.

"What? Of course not. Can you please just drop it? It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes, it is! Look at the condition you're in! You can barely stand! It was Avery that did this, wasn't it?"

Juniper shifted her eyes away. "No," she said, but what she knew was in an unconvincing manner.

Kaylynn sighed. "Look, I'm going to take you to Madame Pomfrey. I won't tell her what happened, but you need to get that looked at."

"I just need to sleep it off."

"You're going!" Kaylynn was determined to bring her friend to the Infirmary and Juniper knew that when her friend got like this, it was impossible to say no. Juniper slipped on her blouse once again and buttoned it. Seeing the tears in Juniper's eyes, Kaylynn's expression softened and she pulled the stressed and injured girl into a hug.

"I'm sorry, but you can't ignore your troubles. They always manage to catch up with you." She let go so that she could look at Juniper. "If you could learn to stand up for yourself, this wouldn't happen as much. Avery only walks all over you because you let her."

"No, I don't," Juniper pressed, but was slowly losing confidence.

"Yes, you do!" Kaylynn sighed. "Look, I'm not going to sit here arguing with you. Let's get you to the Infirmary."

Juniper finally relented and allowed Kaylynn to take her to Madame Pomfrey. When the nurse saw the bruise, she was shocked to say the least. "How long have you had this?" she asked.

"Ever since about three this afternoon," Juniper admitted. Kaylynn looked at her in shock, but Juniper gave her a look, insisting that she not say anything.

"What happened to cause such an injury?" the nurse asked, examining Juniper's side, her wand creating an X-Ray. "You seem to have a small hairline fracture."

"I ended up slipping and falling," Juniper said. Madame Pomfrey stared at her for a moment, her brown eyes narrowed. Juniper grew uncomfortable under her gaze. Finally, the nurse left for a moment to go into the back room to grab the Bruise Removal paste.

"I swear, when I see Avery tomorrow, I'm going to make her pay," Kaylynn muttered angrily, clenching her fists.

"It's not worth it," Juniper said. "You'd just get into trouble."

"I don't care," Kaylynn snapped as Madame Pomfrey returned with a small tub and applied the paste to Juniper's side.

"At least it's not as bad as it could be," Madame Pomfrey mumbled, loud enough for the two girls to hear. "That should do it." She twisted the top back onto the paste. "Now then, try to be a little more careful and don't get into anymore fights." The nurse was definitely no fool. She knew when someone had gotten into a scuffle and when someone merely fell.

Once Madame Pomfrey was gone, Juniper stood up buttoned her blouse. All she wanted to do now was go to bed. Kaylynn didn't say anything to her until they were out of the Infirmary.

"What are you going to do if you run into Avery again?" she asked.

"Who says I'm going to run into her?" The paste had already started to work its magic and she could feel the intense pain fading. Maybe she'd send an owl to her parents and ask for some Bruise Removal paste to keep with her belongings.

"Really, June? I know this is a big school, but you can't expect not to run into her. Hell, we have three classes with her."

"I know that, but..." Juniper's voice trailed off.

"But nothing, you have to learn to stand up for yourself." Kaylynn's voice rose slightly. Juniper cringed. Why couldn't her best friend see that it wasn't that easy? Avery may have been the same age as her, but she was ten times faster, stronger, and more powerful.

Kaylynn shook her head. "I love you, but sometimes you can be so infuriating. If you don't find a way to fight back, people like Avery will spend the rest of their lives walking all over you."

Juniper said nothing, she hated admitting that Kaylynn was right, but Avery had a strong hatred for her. Even if she did manage to successfully fight back, it wouldn't stop the Ravenclaw from coming after her again. Could it be that she was afraid of Avery, of what she could do?

The two of them soon made it back to the Hufflepuff common room. As it was pretty late, the two of them wasted no time in heading to the girls' dorms, changing into their pajamas, and settling down for the night. Although, Juniper remained awake for a little while after getting into bed. The only sounds were those of her fellow dormmates lightly snoring and occasionally the bed rustle of someone turning over. What would James think if he knew she'd been brutalized in the girls' lavatory? She made a mental note never to tell him. But this brought her thoughts to the fact that Avery had flirted with him the other day, and she felt an overwhelming sense of anger and jealousy. She didn't want to believe that James would ever consider dating someone as horrible as her, but Avery was beautiful, even if she did have an ugly personality. A lot of guys would kill to have her, despite what kind of person she was. Turning over, she went to sleep with her fears still fresh in her mind.


	9. Chapter 9: Transfiguration Blunders

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* * *

 **Chapter Nine: Transfiguration Blunders**

That Friday, the Hufflepuff team donned their yellow and black Quidditch robes and met on the field. Aside from Juniper and Kaylynn, there was only one other fourth year on the team, Chaser Matthew King. The other Chaser was their captain, Sean Amos. Many of the team members hovered on their broomsticks as Sean addressed everyone. Juniper was eager to get practice started, but she knew she would have to endure a long lecture from him, first.

"Lamdar, stop standing on that broom before you fall and break something. Right, we've had plenty of fun over the years, won quite a few matches and I'm proud of all of you. But, this year, I really want to be able to hold that Quidditch trophy. I think we deserve it. We definitely have a good team this year. I want each and every one of us to have fun, but I also want us to, at least, strive to win." His eyes fell on Juniper, who blanched. Winning had never been important to her during Quidditch matches. She was definitely the least competitive of the Hufflepuffs, and that was saying something. "This is my last year as your Captain. I have to say that I'm going to miss all of you, some more than others." He winked at his sixth year girlfriend and other Beater besides Kaylynn, Rachel Wilson. "That's why I definitely want us all to try our very hardest!"

"Enough with the lecture!" said fifth year Keeper, Grant Williams. "Let's start the practice!"

Sean had a faraway look in his face. Juniper was sure he was probably thinking about that Quidditch Trophy. She didn't blame him. After all, it had been years since Hufflepuff had held it. Still, it would be hard to beat the other three Houses, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin, both of whom had an outstanding team.

"All right, let's see if any of you actually practiced over the summer!" He mounted his broomstick and took off into the air. The rest of the teammates followed suit. Up here, Juniper didn't feel so awkward anymore. The spread her arms outwards as she flew and tilted her head back. This was what freedom was all about. If she was an Animagus, she'd defintitely be a bird of some kind.

"Clayton, pay attention before you're hit by a Bludger!" Sean yelled. Juniper veered to the left to narrowly avoid a Bludger that Kaylynn had hit towards her, then caught the Quaffle as it came her way. She was forced to perform another loop-de-loop to dodge another Bludger, before passing to Matthew, who passed to Sean, who took the shot, but Grant caught it.

"Good job!" Sean praised the Keeper. "Clayton, pick up the speed! King, don't hesitate before passing, just do it!"

After a few more passing sessions, a Golden Snitch was released. The team Seeker, Aiden Long was given the task of trying to catch it as quickly as possible.

"Great practice, everyone!" Sean said when they all finally came back down to the ground. "Don't forget that we have another practice next Friday!"

The team members walked off the field before going their separate ways. "Hey, Juniper!" a voice called. Juniper turned around to see James striding over to her. At first she wondered what he was doing here, but then she remembered that he'd said he was going to come watch her practice.

Kaylynn, deciding to give the two some alone time, clapped Juniper on the shoulder. "I'll see you later," she said before heading off towards the showers.

Juniper tugged at the hem of her striped Quidditch jumper. "So...you were watching me?" she asked, lightly biting down on her bottom lip.

James nodded. "You looked good out there. Amos is right though, you definitely need to work on your speed. I swear a turtle could probably pass you," he teased, grinning impishly.

Juniper gave him a playful shove. "Shut up," she said, giggling, her cheeks slightly tinged. The two of them walked back up to the castle together. James seemed very much at ease with his hands folded behind his head. It was very cool outside today. Juniper loved the Fall, it was definitely her favorite season.

"Nah, but seriously if you want, maybe I could show you a few nifty flying tricks, sometime," he suggested.

 _Yes! In your face, Avery!_ Juniper thought, remembering that James mentioned the Ravenclaw wanting some flying pointers from him, but he'd declined her request. "I don't have a problem with it, but are you sure your teammates would be okay with you fraternizing with the enemy?"

James rolled his eyes and slung his arm around her shoulders. "You're hardly the enemy."

Juniper was actually beginning to look forward to her tutoring session with him on Monday.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't to change," Kaylynn asked that next Monday evening after dinner while watching Juniper run a brush through her unruly hair.

"Why should I? We're just going to be in the library for a few hours, that's all," Juniper said. "There's no point in me putting on something else."

It was about fifteen minutes after dinner and both girls were in the Hufflepuff dorms. Kaylynn was on her bed, laying on her stomach with her legs propped up in the air and a pillow under her arms, while Juniper stood in front of one of the full length mirrors.

"Maybe, I'd just think that you'd want to look good around James. He'd really appreciate it, probably."

Juniper stopped running the brush through her hair and lowered it. Was it true? Would James prefer if she looked more girlish? She mentally shook her head. "Of course not. He'd never said anything about her appearance before, so why should he now?"

"Well, at least take off your tie and outer robes and put on some chapstick. Your lips are looking pretty dry right now."

Juniper did as suggested. She lay the tie and robes on her bed and borrowed some strawberry scented chapstick from Kaylynn. She even allowed Kaylynn to add two spritzes of body spray as she didn't really have time to take a shower, not that she smelled bad.

"Accio satchel!" The bag flew into her arms and she shouldered it, placing her wand in one of the outer pockets. "I'll talk to you after I get back, if you're still awake."

Kaylynn smirked. "Oh, I'll definitely be awake to hear all the dirty little details." She winked at the blushing Hufflepuff. Most of the Hufflepuffs were out of the dorms and common room, save for a few, including Eileen who was working quietly on her History of Magic essay. She looked up from her parchment.

"Juniper?" she asked in her usual thick accent.

Juniper checked her watch, making sure that she wasn't about to run late before approaching the dark skinned girl. "What's up, Eileen?"

"You are good in Charms, yes? I've seen you get quite a few points for Hufflepuff in that class."

"Er...I'm all right at it," Juniper said modestly. "Why, what's wrong?"

"I was wondering if you could, maybe help me with a few spells that I've been having trouble with. I try to move my wand the way the book tells me, but they don't work."

"Sure," Juniper said without hesitating.

"Where are you going?" Eileen eyed Juniper's satchel.

"I'm going to the library to get some help from James. He's going to tutor me in Transfiguration and some other classes I've been having trouble with." She wasn't even sure if Eileen really knew who James was. She rarely talked to anyone, and came off as a bit standoffish. Juniper just figured that she wasn't entirely comfortable in the new environment, yet.

"He's very handsome," Eileen said matter-of-factly, using the same tone someone talking about the weather would.

At first, Juniper wondered if Eileen might be harboring a crush on James, but there was nothing in her expression to indicate that she did. In fact, she didn't even blush.

"Er...I suppose he is." Juniper tried to remain as casual as possible, although she couldn't help becoming nervous. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later," she said.

Eileen nodded and Juniper left the common room and began heading towards the library.

* * *

"Have fun," Lily called looking up from her spot near the fireplace where she and a couple of her friends were giggling over a young witch's teen magazine at some of the latest celebrities.

"Why do you read that?" James asked. "All those guys in there look like girls with really short hair."

Lily gave her brother a look. "You're just jealous because you're not as good looking, rich, and famous as these guys in here," she said, lightly slapping the magazine with her hand.

"I don't know, I think your brother is definitely hotter than some of the guys in here," Noelle Stragers said, giggling.

Lily looked at the brown-haired girl with the utmost horror. "Ew! That's my brother you're talking about!"

"I don't know, he does have a certain appeal to him," Laura Hale admitted, eyeing James who felt like Lily's two friends were undressing him with their minds.

"Er...right, well, I'll be back later," he said, slowly backing out of the common room leaving his little sister to her friends and heading to the library. The only other people there, besides Madame Pince was a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, bu tthey seemed more interested in each other than books or homework. Not wanting to watch them snogging, James found a table to sit at far away with a large bookcase blocking his view and began setting everything up. Now, all he had to do was wait for Juniper. He stood up and chanced a glance around the bookshelf, despite the couple snogging on the other side and saw her walk in. While she wasn't looking in his direction, he quickly checked his breath to make sure it didn't smell foul before unwrapping some chewing gum and popping the stick into his mouth.

Juniper was directed by Madame Pince to the table where James was sitting at and walked over. "Sorry I'm late," she said setting her satchel on the table before she sat across from him.

"I actually just got here not two seconds before you did, so it's all good," he said watching her take out a few books.

"Really? Did something keep you?" she asked.

"Not really, unless you count my sister's creepy friends trying to flirt with me," he grimaced. "It was a little scary.

Juniper laughed. "Er...I guess to them, you're a hunk."

James gave her a look. "A hunk, huh?" His eyes twinkled playfully.

Juniper blushed. "It's what my mum calls my dad whenever she refers to him."

"What do you think of me?" James leaned forward.

Juniper suddenly began to fumble around with her Transfiguration book. James watched her for a moment, grinnnig. He had to admit, flirting with her was fun. He loved her reactions. "Sorry, why don't we get started?"

She seemed to relax and nodded. "So, let's look at the areas your having trouble with," he said as she began to flip through the large book.

"Everything," she muttered dejectedly.

"Hey, stop talking like that. You'll be fine. Why don't we start with something simple and basic." James dug around in his bag and produced a box of matches. He lay one of them on the table between them. "I want to see if you can turn this match into a needle. It's a simple first year spell."

Juniper pointed her wand directly at the match and gave a sharp jab. James wasn't surprised when she was able to succeed and the match was replaced with a small silver sewing needle. It was one of the first Transfiguration spells that a student learned.

"The first few Transfiguration spells came easily for me. I can transform small things just fine, but I have a lot of trouble with bigger stuff."

"That's okay. Why don't we focus on something simple for now. Try turning that chair over there blue," he said pointed.

Juniper turned in her seat to face the chair he was indicating and jabbed her wand in its direction. The spell hit, but instead of changing the chair's color, it broke and splintered apart into a heap on the floor, which Juniper quickly repaired.

"I told you," she muttered, pouting a little bit.

James reached across and put his hand over hers. "Don't worry about it. Try again," he suggested. "Don't jab your wand so hard. It's a firm movement, but you're not trying to stab someone." Her hand was really soft, he noticed, and so small, as well. Realizing that he was still clutching it, he quickly let go and cleared his throat. "Now then, picture the chair in your mind, and get a clear image of the color."

"Okay..." Juniper said uncertainly. She tried again, this time the chair turned a lightly lighter shade of brown, but still wasn't close to the blue she was trying to achieve. She slumped down in her own seat. "This is hopeless. I can't even do something as simple as changing the color of a stupid chair."

"It's not hopeless." He pointed his wand firmly at the chair, turning it blue, then changed it back again.

"It's easy for you, you're good at this sort of thing. Who knows, maybe next year I'll fail my O.W.L. in Transfiguration and not have to take the class in my sixth year."

"It's a very vital piece of magic. You don't want to throw in the towel just because it's hard," he chuckled. "Clear your mind. You're just getting stressed out, that's all."

Juniper took a deep breath and did as he suggested. This time the end result was a blue chair. "I did it! Did you see that, James?" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Good." James smiled. "I told you, you could do it. Let's try it again a few more times to make sure you've got it down."

Juniper tried three more times, successfully transfiguring the chair twice. "Two out of three isn't bad," he said. He had her attempt to Transfigure a few more things, such as a book and even a banana. The banana proved to be a little easier than the banana. Soon, the practical half of the tutoring had ended, and now it was time to get to the written half, the homework. James helped her improve upon an essay that was due before the next Transfiguration class, pointing out areas that needed work. Juniper had to admit that she was having a lot of fun with him. He definitely made her laugh and he wasn't stiff like she thought a tutor would be.

"By the way, I heard that Hugo made the team," she said pausing in her writing.

"He's pretty excited about it. I'm sorry that you weren't there at the tryouts. Was everything all right?"

"Oh, yeah. I just wanted to find a quiet place to read, that's all." Yet, she was avoiding looking at him. He frowned slightly.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"Huh? No, nothing happened. I was just a bit tired after Care of Magical Creatures. So, I didn't feel like going back outside."

James had a nagging feeling that she was hiding something, but he had never been the type to really press. If there was something she didn't want to share, he woudln't force her. "All right, but you know you can talk to me about anything."

She nodded. "I know." She continued writing in silence and he worked on one of his essays as well occasionally glancing over at hers to give her a few tips. Unfortunately, the tutoring session soon ended.

"We forgot to work on Potions today," James said in a disappointed tone. "I'll see about talking to Slughorn so that we can use his classroom to help you with your Potions. I doubt that ol' Pincey would like us brewing up anything in here."

Juniper laughed. The old librarian was certainly a female version of Mr. Filch, the caretaker. They put their things away, then James walked her back to her common room as he usually did.


	10. Chapter 10: Does She Have A Secret?

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* * *

 **Chapter Ten: Does She Have A Secret?**

September melted into October. Aside from going to class, tutoring sessions, and Quidditch Practice, nothing eventful really happened at Hogwarts for James and Juniper. During one of their sessions in the library, James had suggested that they find a way to communicate when they weren't together. They came up with an idea to use a Protean Charm on an object that would allow them to talk to one another. Juniper recommended that they use their watches as a mirror and even set a time as to when that spell would be active. Of course, they could always change the time to anything, especially during emergencies.

Now it was the second week in October and a notice had been posted regarding the first Hogsmeade visit. James and his fellow Gryffindors came in from Herbology after having cleaned up. Seeing the notice, James' first thought was to invite Juniper along. Then again, she might be going with Kaylynn, so it was possible for him to meet up with them at The Three Broomsticks.

"Oi, Jaenelle!" Liam called to Juniper's twin who was standing a few feet away with two of her friends, Lori and Marisa. She stopped talking to the other girls and turned to face the blue-eyed Gryffindor.

"Come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend! You know you want to!"

Lori and Marisa giggled while Jaenelle smirked and walked over. "Really, why would I want to?" she asked in a rather flirtatious voice.

"Because you secretly want me." Liam smirked. "Don't deny it."

Jaenelle glanced back at her two friends who grinned at her before turning back to the fifth year Gryffindor standing in front of her. "Now what makes you say that?" she said playfully.

"Come on," Liam pretended to whine. "Don't tease me like that."

"I kind of promised that I'd hang out with Marisa and Lori," she said.

"Why not go with him?" Marisa suggested. "He's kind of cute in that puppy-dog kind of way. You can lead him around on a leash and everything if you want to."

James, Jordan, and Seth burst out laughing while Liam scowled. Thanks a lot, you guys," he muttered.

"Don't listen to Marisa," Lori said, glaring at the girl standing beside her. "She has some weird fetishes."

Marisa hit her friend on the shoulder. "I do not!" she protested.

Jaenelle shook her head as she glanced disdainfully at her friends. "Remind me to dump pudding on both of your heads later," she said before turning back to Liam. "Sure, I'll go with you this weekend, but you have to pay for everything. Oh and, a little warning, I'm not a cheap date." She waved good-bye to James and his other two friends before sashaying off with Lori and Marisa.

"See, mate," Liam said to James once the girls were out of earshot. "That's the kind of girl you should be dating."

James glared at Liam. "First of all, Juniper and I aren't even doing anything close to dating. "Second of all," he pointed his wand at his friend and shot a stream of water in his face with the Aguamenti spell, similar to a watergun. "Gotcha!"

Jordan and Seth laughed as Liam chased James all throughout the corridor. At that moment, Juniper and Kaylynn came to stand near the two amused Gryffindors, both of them each holding a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing.

"Why's Potter chasing Sorse?" Kaylynn asked, biting into the pastry in her hand.

"Hey, where'd you get that?" Seth asked pointing to the delicious looking treat in the girls' hands.

"Juniper's mum sent them to her and, apparently Jaenelle I guess, and she let me have one."

Juniper scowled at her best friend. "Yeah, I said you could have one, but you ended up taking four and I wanted to share a few with some other people.

James soon stopped chasing Liam when he saw Juniper. Shoving his hands into his pocket, he walked over to her. "Hey, June," he said grinning at her, pleased to see her blushing. There was a bit of pink icing on her bottom lip and he felt the urge to lean over and lick it off. Realizing his thoughts, he mentally shook his head. He was sure to make her run for the hills if she ever did that. However, when she stuck her tongue out to lick the icing herself, he felt that intense electric shock throughout his body. Juniper had never been the seductive type, but she had no idea what she did to him.

"So, June," Jordan said, getting the Hufflepuff's attention. "Enjoying your tutoring sessions with James?"

Juniper nodded rather shyly. "He's a very good teacher," she said smiling at James.

"Oh, I bet he is. So, tell me, do the two of you do anything else besides practice spells and study?" His eyebrows wiggled as he smirked.

"N-No," Juniper said, tugging at the sleeve of her blouse uneasily, clearly uncomfortable at the shift in the conversation.

James was about to say something, but Kaylynn beat her to it. "Shut up, Marks," she sneered at Jordan before Juniper and she left to go to the Great Hall for lunch.

Jordan feigned being confused. "What the bloody hell did I do?"

Liam snickered while Seth and James took turns cuffing Jordan over the side of the head.

* * *

Juniper was so excited when the weekend came. She absolutely loved Hogsmeade, especially Honeyduke's, which was her favorite place to go. She definitely had a sweet tooth and her parents were always sending her treats, like the cupcakes the other day. That morning, while they were in the Great Hall eating breakfast, Juniper glanced over at Eileen who was having a small conversation with Marianne and had an idea

"I'll be right back," she said to Kaylynn whe could only nod as her mouth was full of a mixture of toast and sausage. She stood up and walked over to the dark haired girl.

"Hey, Eileen, Marianne," she said smiling. "Are you two going to Hogsmeade?"

Marianne shook her head. "I actually need to catch up on some of my homework."

Juniper winced slightly for she knew that she had two essays to write, which were due on Monday, but she pushed them out of her head. "What about you, Eileen?"

"Well, since I did finish everything that I needed to, I think I will."

Juniper's eyes lit up. "Er...well then, why not come with Kaylynn and me?"

Eileen glanced over at Kaylynn. "Are you sure she's all right with me coming along?"

Juniper followed Eileen's gaze. She had briefly forgotten to ask Kaylynn. "Er...I'll be right back." She walked back over to the other Hufflepuff. "Hey, Lynn, do you mind if Eileen comes with us to Hogsmeade?"

Kaylynn's mouth was full, so she could only shake her head. "Great, thanks." Juniper came back to Eileen again. "She says she's okay with it."

Eileen nodded. "After lunch, right?"

"Yeah, we'll all meet outside in the courtyard." Juniper turned away to go back to her seat.

"Hey!" Eileen called. Juniper turned around.

Are you only inviting me along because you feel sorry for me?" she asked. Juniper opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. How could she answer? It was no secret that she felt pity for the girl. She'd even told Kaylynn more than once, but how could she say the same thing to the source? She remembered that she'd tried to lie to Eileen once before, but was caught almost right away. She didn't know if it meant Eileen knew whenever someone was lying, or if she was just a bad liar. She decided that it might be best to be honest this time.

"Part of me sort of does, but the other part really wants to get to know you."

Eileen didn't speak for a moment and only studied Juniper, who shifted uncomfortably under under her piercing gaze. "It's nice to see you're being honest for once," she finally said before turning back to her plate. Juniper sighed in relief and walked back over to her own seat.

* * *

The morning went by fast and after lunch, the students, ranging from third year, all the way to seventh, stood outside in the courtyard as Professor Longbottom, the Deputy Headmaster read out the names of people going and making sure that people who didn't have permission slips to begin with, wouldn't try to sneak past.

"Where is Eileen?" Kaylynn asked standing on the tips of her toes to try and see over the small sea of students.

Juniper spotted her, weaving through the crowd. "There she is. Hey, Eileen, over here!"

Eileen finally joined them. She actually looked very pretty with her hair pulled back in a thick french plait draped over her left shoulder and a white knit hat. She picked off a piece of lint from her mint green jumper and straightened the pockets of her khaki skinny pants. Juniper felt like a homeless person in her large dark blue hoodie and baggy jeans with a few tears in them. They walked together in silence, finally coming into Hogsmeade.

"So, Eileen, were there any wizarding villages at your old school?" Kaylynn asked as she waved to Albus, Rose, and Scorpius who were just outside The Three Broomsticks. Juniper wasn't too sure, but she thought she saw her friend smile a bit more widely when she looked at Albus. Kaylynn had never talked about it, but Juniper briefly wondered if her best friend might have had a small crush on the younger Potter boy.

"We had a village, yes, but students weren't allowed. It was very, how do you say, not good?" she said trying to come up with a better word.

"Seedy?" Juniper suggested.

"Yes." Eileen nodded. "That. It wasn't an appropriate place for students, but some of them still managed to sneak there."

"Hey!" Rose called as the three neared The Three Broomsticks. "Come sit with us! Albus said he'd buy us all butterbeer, right?"

Albus gave his cousin a look. "I don't know if I'd have enough."

"You'll have enough," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Your parents are loaded and definitely made sure you had more than you need before coming here."

"Your parents more than mine," Albus argued, but his lips twitched slightly in amusement.

"I can pay for my own," Eileen spoke up. Juniper, realizing that they probably didn't really know her, introduced them.

"Can we please go inside?" Kaylynn whined. "It's cold out here."

They found a table in the warmest part of the pub. As soon as they were settled, Albus stood up again. "I'll just go get the butterbeer."

"I'll come with you." Kaylynn followed him to help carry the mugs. Eileen and Juniper slid over their money, despite protests from Scorpius, who insisted that they didn't have to. Rose, being the generally friendly person, addressed the new girl.

"So, Eileen, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"It's a lot smaller than my old school."

"I find it hard to believe that a school could be smaller than this one," Scorpius said as Albus and Kaylynn returned, each carrying three mugs of the warm light brown liquid, which they set down on the table before sitting down, themselves.

"What about Houses?" Kaylynn asked as she pulled her butterbeer close. "Did you have any of those?"

"No, we slept in dorms based on our year." She took a sip of her own drink. "This is good," she said with mild surprise.

"So, what happened that made you transfer?" Albus asked. He wasn't asking in an interrogative manner like Kaylynn had, but more out of curiosity.

Eileen looked down at her foamy drink. "It's kind of hard to explain."

There was some uncomfortable silence before Scorpius spoke up again. "Hey, so I can't wait for the match on Thursday," he said and, fortunately, the topic shifted. While they talked about the upcoming Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, Juniper glanced at Eileen. What had happened to force Eileen to transfer? It had to be something deeper than just one of her parents getting a new job. If that was the case, she would have no problem saying anything. Eileen was an anomaly to say the least. Would she ever open up to anyone about the clear reason? Or would it remain a mystery, forever? Juniper was sure that it was something rather big.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: I hope that everyone enjoyed me giving Albus, Rose, and Scorpius a slightly bigger role in this chapter. I definitely haven't forgotten about them and they will make more appearances. I really have no plans for Rose and Scorpius to get together, or Albus and Scorpius. I also want all of my readers to know that the hint to Albus and Kaylynn crushing each other wasn't a spur of the moment thing. It's something that's been planned since the beginning. The two of them just don't really talk too much about it with their friends as, right now, it's so small that it's almost insignificant and that's why it really hasn't been touched upon. I hope you are all enjoying these chapters and feel free to leave me a review with your thoughts. I also like constructive criticism as** **well.**_


	11. Chapter 11: Broken and Burned

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* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: Broken and Burned**

"I can't believe we have to spend the weekend cleaning these bloody cauldrons," Seth muttered as he tossed the rag aside and glanced disdainfully at James. "You're the one who got me into trouble, as well." He picked up the rag again and proceeded to continue cleaning the inside of the cauldron. "Bloody hell, what have they been brewing in here?"

"Hey, mate, you were eager to disrupt Transfiguration as much as I was." James leaned over and grabbed the foul-smelling cleaner. It was a wretch, cleaning these cauldrons by hand with no magic. How did his father do it all those years while living with his aunt and uncle? "Besides, how was I to know McGonagall wouldn't like us messing with O'Flattery? The git deserved it after that smart remark he made." James had given him a donkey's tail, while Seth had followed through with the ears. Needless to say, Professor McGonagall had caught them straight away.

"So, now we can't even go to Hogsmeade this weekend," Seth muttered. "I hope Liam and Jordan bring us back something from Honeyduke's."

James set the cauldron aside, which he had just finished cleaning and reached for another one. "Jordan might, but Liam is on his little date with Jaenelle. The only thing he'll be thinking about is snogging her."

"Speaking of snogging," Seth grinned cheekily at the bespectacled wizard across from him. "When are Juniper and you going to start?"

James gave his friend a look, struggling to contain the warmth in his cheeks that he knew was a blush. "I'm sorry to say that I'm not a slag who just snogs people at random. I'd kind of like to have a girlfriend, first." The problem was that he didn't know how Juniper would react if he just asked her out of the blue.

"So, what's the problem? There's Juniper and I know you like her. Why not go for it? She definitely has that cuteness factor going for her and if I was a scumbag, I'd probably steal her right from under your nose, but I'm not."

James snorted. "Thanks," he muttered. "I definitely find Juniper attractive, but it's also much deeper than that. She could have a third eye in the middle of her forehead or she could be fifty pounds overweight and I'd still be attracted to her."

"So, basically, you're into inner beauty and all that."

"Yeah, something like that. It's why I get tired of Liam and Jordan teasing me, saying I should date Jaenelle. I mean, so what if they look exactly alike?"

Seth sprayed some cleaner onto the damp rag he was holding and began cleaning the outside of one of the cauldrons. "But there is a physical attraction as well, isn't there?"

"Sure, there is. Or else I wouldn't have said that I find her attractive." James knew he could talk to Seth about this sort of thing as the blue-eyed wizard was very understanding. Liam and Jordan would have just made vulgar jokes the entire time and laughed, but not Seth. The two of them spent the next three hours cleaning the cauldrons by hand and by the time they finished, they had blisters on their fingers and had to head to the Infirmary to get some Blister Removing paste from Madame Pomfrey.

* * *

That Thursday was the very first Quidditch Match for Hufflepuff. They would be playing against Slytherin in the second match of the year. The Gryffindors had won their match against Ravenclaw last month. Juniper had been there in the stands, cheering as loudly as everyone else when Gryffindor scored a goal and practically leaped out of her seat with excitement when their Seeker caught the Snitch, securing the win. She was also surprised that Avery had joined the team. Apparently, one of the Chasers, a sixth year, had chosen to step down from his position in order to focus more on his N.E.W.T. classes. At least, this was what she heard from Kaylynn, who heard it from another Ravenclaw.

Now, Juniper sat in the Hufflepuff changing room with the rest of her teammates with her Cleansweep draped across her lap. She'd spent a few hours cleaning it last night until it shone like brand new. Kaylynn had finished braiding her hair into a tight french plait that hurt her scalp a little bit, but at least it wouldn't get in the way while she was flying.

"All right, team, this is our first match of the year. I want all of us to go out there and do our best!" Sean was giving his usual pep talk. "Remember, we work as a team!"

"We live as a team, we die as a team!" Grant joked with a light chortle.

Everyone laughed, even Sean. "All right, all right. Now let's get out there and win this, and most importantly, have fun!" He was answered with a resounding cheer from the other six players before they all filed out of the changing room and traveled down the long narrow tunnel that lead to the Quidditch Pitch. Upon the given whistle, both teams mounted their broomsticks and lifted off into the air. On one side was the Hufflepuff team and the other, the Slytherin team.

"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the second Quidditch Match of the year! I'm your commentator, Clive Bradley! Today, it's Slytherin versus Hufflepuff! Both teams have a great set up this year in players! All of them are amazing flyers! The captains are shaking hands! Believe it or not, folks, this is Sean Amos' last year as Captain and his last chance to secure that Quidditch Trophy! Of course, he still has a long way to go before he can be sure that his team will even be able to play in the very final match."

The Quaffle was released and Sean took hold of it. He weaved in and out of the Slytherin Chasers. Clive continued his commentating. "Amos passes to Clayton! It's hard to believe that girl is fourteen, she's so tiny. But damn, she's a good flyer. Sorry, professor," he added as Professor McGonagall gave him a stern look for swearing. "Anyways, Clayton has the ball. She passes to King, who passes to Amos, who passes back to Clayton! Can she make the shot?"

Juniper aimed for the left goalpost on the right side of the field. "Oh, no! Slytherin Keeper, Malfoy stopped it! Clayton's going to have to be quicker than that!"

Slytherin ended up scoring three goals in a row. They were so fast this year that Juniper had trouble keeping up with them. However, this didn't mean that the Hufflepuff team would give up, and soon they were scoring as well. The score was fifty to forty to Slytherin. Both Seekers had flown higher to see if they could better spot the Snitch. There had been no injuries yet, as both teams were very skilled at dodging Bludgers.

"It could be anyone's game now!" Clive yelled into the microphone. "Nott has the Quaffle! She passes to Montague, but it's intercepted by Clayton!"

Juniper was close enough to the goal posts that she had the chance to take the shop. She feinted towards the left goalpost in order to distract Scorpius. But as she began to take the shot towards the middle post, she felt a very intense pain and heard a loud crack. The fourteen year old cried out as she struggled to keep herself in the air, but her leg was broken. She knew what one felt like as she'd experienced a broken shoulder last year, due to another Bludger incident, but this was something different. The Bludger had been hot, like someone had heated it over a fireplace. So, when it hit her, the sheer heat created a hole in her pants and left a very nasty burn to go with her now broken leg.

She wanted to pass out, but determined, she still held onto the Quaffle. The Bludger came after her again, but Kaylynn intercepted and hit it away from the injured Hufflepuff.

"It seems that Clayton has been injured, but she's still holding onto the Quaffle! What a trooper that girl is! She takes the shot...and scores!"

Juniper clung to her broomstick after making the shot, struggling to stay conscious and in the air. There was a ringing in her ears and her entire body felt heavy. This pain was so unbearable, it made being kicked by Avery and her friends seem like nothing.

"Clayton!" Sean realized the severity of her condition. "Stop the match!"

Madame Hooch blew her whistle. Together, the other two Hufflepuff Chasers helped Juniper descend to the ground. They aided her as she was lowered onto the grass. Madame Hooch cast 'Finite' on the Bludger before coming down towards the injured girl. The rest of the Hufflepuff team came down, as well, while the Slytherin team waited in the air. A few of them seemed impatient and ready to continue with the game, but the rest had expressions of genuine worry.

"Broken and a nasty third degree burn," Madame Hooch diagnosed. She blew her whistle again! "This match has been postponed until further notice! She then pointed her wand at Juniper's leg. "Ferula." A makeshift splint and bandage was created and wrapped around Juniper's injury.

A few people came down from the stands, including James, Albus, Lily, Rose, Hugo, and even Avery, but latter's motives were not of concern for a friend. As a stretcher was conjured and Juniper was gently lifted onto it, she began to sneer.

"It's too bad that Bludger didn't obliterate her face. I think this world would have been much happier without her."

The male team members looked at Avery with the utmost disgust as they refused to hit a girl, no matter how cruel or vile she was, but Kaylynn, red with anger pointed her wand at the dark haired Ravenclaw. "Impedimenta!"

Avery was hit in the chest by the spell and was knocked back, bound by invisible robes, unable to move. Kaylynn pounced while the girl was down, spouting off profanities, but Grant and Matthew, who were the closest pulled Kaylynn off and held her back as she fought against them, eager to claw Avery's eyes out. Professor McGonagall approached swiftly, her emerald robes fanning out behind her. She had seen Kaylynn hex Avery and then attempt to attack her.

"Miss Lamdar! We do not hex students no matter how angry we are! Ten points from Hufflepuff and you will serve detention with me tomorrow evening after dinner!"

"But, Professor, she-" Kaylynn began to protest, but Professor McGonagall put her left hand up to stop the blonde fourteen year old. After all, she had not heard what Avery said, and hexing someone was more punishable than a handful of insults. The Headmistress lifted the spell on Avery. With a smug grin, the dark haired girl stood up and brushed herself off. While Professor McGonagall was speaking silently with Juniper, her back turned, Kaylynn gave Avery a look of the utmost loathing, before accompanying the others to the Infirmary, with Juniper's levitating stretcher leading the way.

* * *

Juniper drifted in and out of consciousness on the way to the Infirmary. Upon reaching her destination, Madame Pomfrey was very stern in shooing everyone else out. They all seemed reluctant to leave, especially James and Kaylynn, both of whom argued with the nurse.

"You may see her once she's stable!" Madame Pomfrey said impatiently. "But, for now, I have a lot of work to do and don't need anyone standing over my shoulder!"

Juniper was given a potion that would greatly numb the pain and fell unconscious afterwards from sheer physical exhaustion. Before she closed her eyes, she found herself thinking of, not her condition, but why the Bludger had been so hot. It was as if someone had tampered with it, but what about the other one? Madame Hooch had only used Finite on the Bludger that hit her. Did this mean the other one was just fine? If so, why was it only the one Bludger? It would give Juniper a lot to think about over the next few days.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who has followed and favorited this fic so far. It really means a lot to me that there are people who actually enjoy my work. I know that I have a lot of room for improvement and would definitely love some constructive criticism, whether it's SPaG, sentence structure, character development, plot, anything that you think could help me. I know I need to work on some things when it comes to writing, and I want everyone to be honest with me, in a constructive non-flaming manner, of course.**_


	12. Chapter 12: You Don't Have To Pretend

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* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: You Don't Have To Pretend**

The hours melted into one another and Juniper slept on, even after Madame Pomfrey had finished with her leg. When she finally did begin to stir, she had no idea what time or even day it was. Juniper moved her leg slightly, expecting to feel pain, but she didn't, so she peeled the thin pale green blanket back and saw that her leg was no longer broken, but still heavily bandaged. At first, she had no memory of what happened, and how she had gotten here, but images soon started to run through her mind, like one of those old Muggle movie reels. She soon remembered the Bludger coming at her, the pain she had felt when it struck her leg, being taken to the Hospital Wing, but after that was when she had blacked out.

"Good, you're awake." Madame Pomfrey came in carrying a jar. She set it down on the bedside table and flicked her wand, the bandages loosened and disappeared. Juniper turned white when she saw the rather nasty pink burn scar. "It was much worse before," the nurse said as she twisted the top off the jar and began to run a very thick orange paste over the scar. "It's healing up quite nicely, but as the burn was quite severe, the healing process is taking much longer than usual. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here over the weekend."

The paste created a very cool, soothing sensation. Madame Pomfrey flicked her wand again and new bandages were conjured and wrapped around her paste covered leg. "How long have I been asleep?" Juniper asked.

"Well, today is Friday, around three o'clock. So, you've been sleeping well over a day now," the nurse replied as she twisted the top back onto the jar. "Your friends have also been here to see you multiple times."

"My friends?" It was then that Juniper happened to glance at the other bedside table on the right side of the bed and noticed the presents. There was some candy, mostly Juniper's favorite, which were Sugar Quills. Madame Pomfrey opened another box to reveal a few small Strawberry Shortcakes. Juniper smiled lightly when she saw a large stuffed badger plush toy.

"The whole Hufflepuff Quidditch Team has been in here to see you, Miss Lamdar the most out of all of them. Even Miss Mariano has paid a few visits, but no one has been here more than Mr. Potter. Oh, speak of the devil."

James was standing in the doorway with a rather strange expression on his face that Juniper couldn't exactly put her finger on. The young Hufflepuff soon became aware of the fact that she was lying in bed wearing only a nightgown, a rather thin one at that. She guessed that she wasn't dressed in pajama bottoms because of her wound. Even though she didn't really have much of a chest to be proud of, her modesty kicked in and she lifted the nightgown up slightly, covering her poor excuse for a bosom.

"I'll let you stay for half an hour," Madame Pomfrey said firmly to James. "No longer than that. Remember, she needs her rest. Oh, before I go," she reached into her wand and produced Juniper's wand. "I kept it safe for you while you were asleep." She set it on the bedside table that was piled with gifts. "Thirty minutes," she reminded James.

He nodded and Juniper and he watched as she walked away. James reached over and lightly put his hand over Juniper's that wasn't clutching the blanket. "How are you feeling?"

"I suppose pretty good, considering I had my leg broken and burned by a Bludger. I still have no idea how I could have gotten a really bad burn, though."

"Kaylynn thinks that it may have been tampered with." He lightly began to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb, making Juniper blush.

"Does she have any idea who might have done it?"

"She has a few, but I think she probably wants to tell you, herself." He then grinned widely and reached over, plucking the stuffed badger from the table. "Do you like it?"

"It's so cute!" Juniper squealed as she took it in her arms, the blanket forgotten. "Is it from you?"

James nodded, a slight pink tinge upon his cheeks. "I figured it would be fitting, since you're in Hufflepuff. I ended up getting it from my Uncle George's shop last time we were in Diagon Alley after you had left with your family that day. It's actually enchanted to play music. Go on and give one of the stripes a tap with your wand."

Juniper did as James suggested and let out a cry of surprise when music started to play from it, a Number One Hit by one of Juniper's favorite bands, "The Hippogriffs". James told her to tap it again, she did and the music stopped, then to tap it a third time. When she did, she was shocked to learn that it played a different song.

"It's like one of those Muggle stuffed toys!"

James chuckled. "Except these don't run out of battery life and you're not limited to just a few songs. It's enchanted so it'll never run out of your favorite hits."

"Aww, so it's like a Wizarding Radio?"

"I guess you can say that, but without all the annoying commercials between songs."

Juniper laughed and turned the song off with one final tap of her wand and set the badger aside. When she looked back at James, he was staring down at the blanket where her bandaged leg was underneath. "So, does it hurt a lot?" he asked.

"Well, when it first happened, it did, but Madame Pomfrey is a miracle worker. I don't feel any pain right now. Besides, I'm more concerned with how it happened."

James gave a bemused smile. "So, I take it you wouldn't care if your entire leg had been missing?"

"Why should I care? Madame Pomfrey would have been able to reattach it, nerve endings and all. If not, then I'm sure I could have gotten me one of them nice prosthetics." She just hoped that James wouldn't see the real reason behind her making light of the situation.

Yet, his brown eyes narrowed, making her fidget uncomfortably. "You don't have to pretend that you're not scared."

"But I'm not," Juniper objected, yet if there was ever a time when she sounded very unconvincing, it was now.

"Would you stop lying and passing it off as nothing?" James snapped making Juniper blanch.

"Why would I be scared?" Juniper began to wring her hands nervously. "It was something that could have happened to anyone." However, something told her that the Bludger had been meant for her.

James ran his fingers through his unruly black hair in frustration and took a deep breath, as if trying not to lose his temper. He then reached over and gently tucked a lock of loose hair that had fallen into her face. "I'm just saying that you don't have to pretend with me. I'm not going to think any less of you just because you're afraid. Anyone in their right mind would be."

Juniper gave a dry laugh. "I guess I'm not in my right mind then."

James reached over and playfully poked her nose. "Sanity is overrated," he grinned impishly. Juniper smiled lightly and shoved his hand away.

"I hope it's a male student that did it." James' voice was tight with anger.

"Why?"

"Because then I'd make him wish he'd never been born. I can't do that to a female student. It's against my morals."

"James, don't do anything that would get you hurt and into a lot of trouble," Juniper chastised with a small frown.

"You're worth getting in trouble over. I'd risk expulsion over you."

Juniper almost laughed, but she could see how serious he was. Any other girl would be immensely flattered and want him to find the culprit and beat them towards an inch of their life, but Juniper knew that if he did and suffered any consequences, it would be all her fault as he would be doing this in order to protect her. She reached over and touched his hand. "Please promise me that you won't do anything reckless."

James gave a smirk. "I'm a Potter and a Gryffindor, it's kind of in my blood. If someone hurts any of my friends, you know I'll go after them."

"I'm serious, James, I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you."

James opened his mouth to say something when the two of them heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Kaylynn and Eileen had appeared in the doorway of the Hospital Wing. The blonde Hufflepuff winced upon witnessing the exchange between James and Juniper and Eileen looked just a little uncomfortable. She was also holding a small package.

"Bloody hell, sorry, we'll leave." Kaylynn began backing away, but James shook his head.

"It's fine, I was about to leave, anyways."

Juniper frowned, wondering if she had said something to upset him, but relaxed when he smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll visit you after dinner," he promised. "Ladies." He acknowledged Kaylynn and Eileen before walking out of the Hospital Wing. Once he was gone, Kaylynn swooped down upon Juniper with her interrogations.

"Okay, be honest, were the two of you about to snog before we so rudely interrupted?"

"What? No!" Juniper blushed furiously. "We weren't even close to a little peck on the lips!"

"But you wanted to, didn't you? You wanted him to take you in his arms and-"

"Leave her alone," Eileen chastised in her usual thick accent, but the corners of her mouth twitched in a telltale sign of amusement.

Juniper folded her arms across her chest and pouted feeling like they were laughing at her. Kaylynn sat on the edge of the bed and plucked the box of tiny strawberry shortcakes from the bedside table. "Oh, don't get all huffy. Here, enjoy these yummy cakes I got you."

Juniper set them in her lap. "But how did you get them?"

"I happened to sneak down into the kitchens and ask the house-elves for some. You know how they are. They were more than happy to oblige."

The bedridden Hufflepuff plucked a strawberry from one of the small cakes. "You weren't caught?"

"Hell, no! You know the kitchens are practically a hop, skip and a jump away. Besides, I used my invisibility cloak."

"You're a right little rebel, aren't you?" Juniper asked, rather amused as she licked a bit of whipped cream off her fingers.

Kaylynn looked quite proud of herself before falling serious. "I think I may know who did this to you."

Eileen gave her a look, to which Kaylynn snapped, "You can't deny that it isn't suspicious!"

"Who do you think it is?" Juniper wanted to stop the building argument between the two girls before it even started.

"I, honestly, think it was Avery."

Juniper was silent for a moment. She looked up at Eileen to gauge her reaction, but only saw a grimace on her face. "Avery? Did she do anything that would give her away?"

"It's not so much of what she did, but what she said." Kaylynn cleared her throat and did an almost perfect imitation of the horrid Ravenclaw. "Too bad that Bludger didn't obliterate her face? The world would be so much better without her."

"That's not enough to go on," Eileen pointed out. "Just because she said something like that, it doesn't mean that she did it because it's not exactly a confession. That's like saying you wished that someone would die via the Killing Curse and then a few weeks later, that person was found dead. It doesn't automatically mean you killed that person. It was just a coincidence."

"So what are you saying?" Kaylynn demanded. "Besides, Juniper and I have known Avery longer than you have. You've only exchanged a small handful of words with her."

Eileen narrowed her eyes. "You don't have to tell me what I already know. I'm just saying that you should have solid evidence before you start accusing people."

Kaylynn opened her mouth and Juniper knew that she'd better stop them before her best friend was really provoked. "Hey, what's in the box?" she asked, her hazel eyes on the small package that Eileen was holding.

The dark haired Hufflepuff's expression softened slightly. "It's just a little something I thought might help you." She held the package out to Juniper, who took it and began to unwrap it.

Inside was a silver chain with a light green pendant at the end of it shaped like a teardrop. At first, it looked like an emerald, but then Juniper remembered that emeralds were a much darker green. "What is this?"

"It's a protective pendant. My grandmother is into protective charms and all that sort of stuff, so she's always sending me things like this. It's supposed to keep you safe from just about any sort of harm or misfortune."

Juniper frowned. "I don't recognize this stone."

"It's called a Peridot."

"Were you raised believing this sort of thing?" Juniper asked a little skeptically as she ran her finger across the gemstone.

"My grandmother believed it. I never really wore them, so that's probably why all that stuff happened at my old school." She shook her head when Juniper and Kaylynn looked at her curiously. "Nevermind, but who knows? Maybe it'll help."

Juniper couldn't deny that she was skeptical. After all, she felt that the only way a piece of jewelry would bring her protection was if it had an enchantment placed upon it.

"It's really pretty," Kaylynn said, leaning in closer to get a better look at the pendant. "But I don't think Avery...sorry, whoever did this to her is going to be afraid of some necklace, unless you shoved it down their throat and made them choke on it."

"Which is totally something you would do," Juniper muttered as she draped the pendant over her neck and tucked it into her nightgown where the chain rested against her skin.

"Damn straight I would!" Kaylynn must have been very loud, for, at that moment, Madame Pomfrey walked in.

"What's all this carrying on? Miss Clayton, you need your rest!" She rounded on the two other Hufflepuff girls. "The two of you, out! You may visit her again after she's had a nap!"

"But I'm not tired," Juniper protested. As she said that, her body betrayed her by letting out a very loud yawn.

"It's okay, Junie, we'll see you later." Kaylynn leaned in and hugged her best friend and Eileen offered a small smile.

"Thanks for the pendant," Juniper said appreciatively.

Eileen looked rather embarrassed, but nodded just the same before leaving with Kaylynn. Madame Pomfrey gave her stern instructions to get some sleep and, despite her efforts, fatigue won the battle and she found herself unable to stay awake anymore.


	13. Chapter 13: Who Really Did It?

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* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: Who Really Did It?**

To say that Juniper disliked being confined in a hospital bed was a massive understatement. She absolutely despised it and was only allowed to leave the bed in order to use the nearest lavatory. She couldn't wait for Monday so that she could be out of this infernal place and she still had about two more days to spend here, which made her wish that her burns would heal faster. Late that night, Juniper struggled to sleep, but no matter which way she turned, the bed was unbearably uncomfortable. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to the two other people, who had been admitted to the Infirmary earlier that evening, snore lightly.

Juniper was about to reach towards one of the bedside tables in order to grab a Sugar Quill, for if she couldn't sleep, she might as well stuff her face, when she felt a strange vibration on her wrist, coming from her rose-gold watch that her maternal grandmother had given her for her fourteenth birthday. At first, she didn't know why it would be doing such a thing, then she remembered the Protean Charm and that it had been enchanted to vibrate whenever James was trying to contact her. She picked up her wand from the bedside table and tapped the watch lightly, which caused James to appear in its face.

"Sleep must be a foreigner to you right now." He gave Juniper his usual cheeky grin.

Juniper ran her fingers through her hair, wincing as she snagged a few tangles along the way. "You have no idea. I hate being here. I mean, if I can get up to use the lavatory, I should be able to do other things, right? But Madam Pomfrey doesn't want me doing anything too strenuous."

"Well, you could always sneak out during the night. I do it all the time," James said proudly.

"Yes, but you also have your father's invisibility cloak, so it's easy for you. My parents said that Jaenelle and I couldn't have one until we were of age, which I think is stupid."

James nodded sympathetically. "Your parents are really strict, aren't they?"

"I wouldn't say strict. They just think that my sister and I are too young for some things."

"Invisibility cloaks included, it seems. You know, it's fun to rebel every once in awhile," he smirked. "You could acquire one and hide it from them. What they don't know won't hurt them."

Juniper chuckled. "My parents seem to know that I'm going to do something bad before I even do it." It was an exaggeration, but Juniper never really got away with anything.

James shook his head, feigning disappointment. "It seems I have a lot to teach you."

"Right, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you get detention last weekend because you and your friend, Seth, apparently gave some poor bloke a set of donkey ears and a tail, right in front of McGonagall and she caught you?"

The bespectacled Gryffindor ruffled his hair nervously. "Er...maybe. But he was being a complete git and deserved it."

"Either way, you still suffered the consequences and, therefore, didn't get away with it."

"That's only because I didn't wait until after class when McGonagall wasn't around," James frowned.

Juniper could see that he was getting a little flustered and giggled lightly, thinking it was rather cute, but would never outright say so out loud.

"What are you giggling at?" James smirked.

Juniper blushed. "Nothing," she said quickly.

"I don't believe you. Come on, tell me!" James urged, grinning impishly.

"No!"

"Don't make me sing to you!"

"Dear Merlin, have mercy on my ears!" she begged, covering her mouth with her watch-free hand to keep from laughing too loudly. It was clear that James couldn't carry a tune to save his life.

"Aww, you didn't want to hear my amazing singing voice?" James pretended to be offended. "I was thinking about joining the Frog Choir," he joked.

"I feel sorry for those frogs," Juniper muttered, earning a laugh from the Gryffindor.

"Seriously, though, how's your leg doing?"

"It doesn't hurt at all, which makes me wonder why Madam Pomfrey is so adamant about me staying here all weekend."

"Don't worry about it so much. I'll come visit you tomorrow and Sunday as much as I can, and I'm sure Kaylynn will too."

Juniper pouted. "It's still not the same."

"I know, but at least it's only two more days. You can survive that long."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Want me to come down there and keep you company for the rest of the night?" James offered.

"No thanks. I think I might try and get some sleep." Juniper knew that she was being a little whiny, but the fact that she was practically bed-ridden the whole weekend was starting to get to her. Not to mention she didn't want to risk James getting caught just because he wanted to keep her company.

"You sure?" Juniper nodded. "Hm...okay then. I guess I'll do the same, but it'll be hard knowing that you're down there all alone."

There was a part of Juniper that did want him to come to the Infirmary and she knew James would do it if she asked him. He'd do it for any of his friends, but the more sensible part of her knew that it wouldn't be right. After they said good night, Juniper tried her best to get back to sleep.

* * *

"I bet you're finally glad to be out of here," Kaylynn said through the green curtain, which Juniper was behind. It was now Monday, which meant Juniper had survived the long weekend. Her leg had healed completely without even the smallest trace of a burn scar and, after eating a small breakfast in bed, Juniper was released, although she would have rather eaten breakfast in the Great Hall with everyone else, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"You have no idea." Juniper buttoned her blouse and tucked it into the black pleated skirt before straightening her black and yellow striped tie and sitting on the bed to slip on her shoes. "I just hope nothing like this happens again."

"I still say that we corner Avery and make her talk."

Juniper rolled her eyes, Kaylynn had been going over this all weekend, even though both Juniper and Eileen pointed out that there was no solid evidence. "I just want to forget about it. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Yes, but don't you want revenge on the person who did it?"

"It's hard to get revenge when I don't even know who did it, and stop insisting it was Avery just because of what she said after it happened."

"You're so incorrigible sometimes," Kaylynn muttered as Juniper came out from behind the curtain. The honey-blonde Hufflepuff had Juniper's satchel resting on the chair beside the bed.

"You're one to talk." Juniper immediately felt bad for what she said and sighed. "Sorry, I just want to move past it. There's really nothing I can do."

"There's a lot you can do about it." Yet, Kaylynn's expression softened. "Nevermind, let's just head to Herbology."

Juniper tucked her wand into her robes pocket and picked up her satchel. After being bed-ridden all weekend, she was actually looking forward to her classes. The two girls waved good-bye to Madam Pomfrey before walking out of the Infirmary.

* * *

James sat in Charms class, glancing frequently at his watch and bouncing his left leg up and down. Liam, who was sitting next to him, gave him a light kick.

"Would you stop doing that?" he hissed as Professor Flitwick went over the Levitation Charm that they had learned in their first year.

James straightened in his seat and tried to pretend that he was listening. "Sorry."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just bored and don't see why we have to re-learn something we can all do in our sleep."

"Yeah right, you were thinking about Juniper."

"Sure, part of me was," James admitted. After all, she had been freed from her prison known as The Infirmary that morning.

"Is there something wrong, boys?" Professor Flitwick squeaked, addressing the two Gryffindors.

"Sorry, Professor," the two boys said quietly.

"Please pay attention, then." For the rest of the class, the students practiced levitating a feather like they had done in their first year. It was surprising to see that there were still some students who couldn't grasp the correct wand movements or the enunciation of Wingardium Leviosa, even after five years.

Liam lowered the feather for the fifth time after levitating it successfully. "By the way, I asked Jaenelle to the New Years Ball."

"Wingardium Leviosa!" James' feather rose into the air, hovering for a few seconds before he directed it back down. "Isn't a little too early for that?" he asked. "It's not for another two and a half months."

Liam shrugged. "I wanted to ask her before someone else did."

"What did she say?"

"She said she'd have to think about it. That girl is such a damn tease. She'll keep me hanging on a thread until the very last minute."

"Well, it's not the end of the world if she does end up saying no. There are plenty of attractive girls in this school."

"Hm...with how sweet you are on Juniper, I was beginning to think you didn't notice any of the other good looking girls."

"You're kidding, right? I'm not blind, I do notice other girls."

"Could have fooled me." Liam smirked. James chucked the feather at Liam, but it just floated back down onto the table.

"So, what are you going to do if Jaenelle says no?" James asked, glancing at Professor Flitwick to make sure that their Charms teacher didn't notice that they were, more or less, slacking off.

"Go on to the next girl, I guess. You know, I've seen the way Avery looks at you when you pass her in the corridors. Maybe you should ask her.

James grimaced. "I think I'd rather go out with Peeves than someone like her."

Liam shrugged. "Your loss, mate."

"I think I'll live with the disappointment." Why was Liam always trying to push some other girl on him? First it was Jaenelle, then it was Avery. Jaenelle was all right, but James didn't have any sort of feelings for her. Avery, on the other hand, while beautiful, had a personality that didn't sit right with him, and he wasn't about to make himself miserable by asking her to the ball.

James was finally glad when class ended and they were able to head to lunch. Just as he was coming into the Entrance Hall, he happened to see some of the fourth years coming up from the dungeons. Juniper was talking with Kaylynn and Eileen.

"I'll meet you in the Great Hall," James said to his friends before heading over to where the three girls were talking. Kaylynn spotted him first and nudged Juniper, who looked up.

"Hi, ladies," James said, grinning at the three girls. "How was Potions?"

Juniper plucked a piece of lint off of her robes. "It was all right."

"All right?" Kaylynn lifted an eyebrow. "If you call setting Eileen's cauldron on fire all right, then sure."

Juniper glared at the blonde Hufflepuff. "No one got hurt, so it's no big deal," Eileen spoke up quietly.

James shook his head in amusement. "Really, June, I thought our tutoring sessions were going well and I come to learn that you're setting other people's cauldrons on fire?"

"You've done much worse," Juniper muttered, blushing furiously. James smiled impishly and reached over to give her ponytail a playful tug.

"I'm just messing with you."

The familiar sound of a stomach growling interrupted the silence and James, Juniper, and Kaylynn looked at Eileen.

"What are you all staring at?" she asked. "It's just bodily noises, let's just go." There was a small pink tinge on her cheeks. James and Kaylynn followed, but Juniper remained behind.

"You coming, June?" Kaylynn asked, stopping when she noticed her friend wasn't walking.

"I'll meet you guys there in a little bit. I actually have to go send a letter to my parents."

"I'll walk with you," James offered, stepping closer to her, but Juniper shook her head.

"It's fine, I don't want to keep you from your lunch."

"You're not," James insisted.

"No really, I-"

"Let her go by herself," Eileen chimed in. "Besides, it should only take her about five minutes at the most and I don't think there would be any problem with you sitting with us at the Hufflepuff table for a little bit."

James shrugged, it made sense that he should give Juniper her space. It was true that, while he did like walking her places, that didn't mean that it had to happen all the time. After all, he didn't want Juniper to get tired of him. "Okay," he said before continuing on into the Great Hall with Eileen and Kaylynn.

* * *

Juniper turned on her heels and headed up the many staircases towards the Owlery. Grimacing at the smell, she stepped over as many of the droppings as she could, but she couldn't avoid all of them and some of them smeared over the bottoms of her shoes. She hadn't written to her parents in a few weeks, despite the fact that they sent an owl quite regularly. She cleared some owl droppings off the tbalewith a flick of her wand and a Scourgify spell, before setting her bag down and pulling out a piece of parchment and her quill and ink. She really should invest in a Self-Inking Quill, but it always seemed to slip her mind. Maybe she'd get one on her next visit to Hogsmeade.

Dipping the quill into the ink, she hastily scribbled a short letter to her parents, telling them that everything was all right. Of course, she didn't mention anything about the Bludger incident as she didn't want them making such a big deal about it. Once finished with the letter, she waved the parchment back and forth so that the ink would dry more quickly, then walked about the Owlery to look for an owl.

She reached towards a brown Tawny, but it seemed to be rather ornery today and took a nice chunk out of her right forefinger, drawing blood.

"Well, screw you then," Juniper said angrily as she stuck her wounded finger in her mouth. Luckily, she found a Barn Owl that seemed perfectly willing to carry her letter. It sat perfectly still on the perch and allowed her to tie the letter to its left foot. Once she had given it instructions on who to bring the letter to, she watched as it flew off. Just as she was about to go back downstairs, she heard two very familiar voices coming up the stairs.

"Don't you think that Avery is going too far with this?" the first voice belonged to Riley.

"You usually go along with everything she says and does. Why are you so worried now?" Cheri came into view. As they seemed focused on each other, they hadn't noticed Juniper, yet. The young Hufflepuff began to back away slowly while looking for a place to hide.

"I know I do, but you'd think she would have gotten over her hatred of Juniper and her family, but Juniper could have really been hurt a lot worse than she was at that Quidditch Match."

Juniper froze. Did this mean that Avery really was the one who had bewitched that Bludger? Juniper found, what she thought was, a safe place behind a row of owls, who were snoozing.

"I just can't believe that she got him to bewitch the Bludger for her."

Him? Who were they talking about?

Cheri scoffed in disgust. "Why should it surprise you? He'd do anything for Avery. She has him wrapped around her perfect little forefinger."

"She has a lot of people wrapped around that little finger of hers. But it's been...what, five or six years since her father was fired from his job. You'd think they'd be able to get over it by now?"

"I've known the Burkes for a while now, they'll never be over it. Now, hurry up and send your Mum that tonic so that we can leave. It stinks in here."

There was a silence as Riley tied the package to an owl's foot. "Do me a favor and don't tell Avery I said any of this."

"Why, are you afraid she'll come after you?" Cheri sneered.

Riley snored. "You really think I'm afraid of her? Right, I'm done. Now, let's head down to lunch, I'm starving.

"Could have fooled me." Juniper heard their footsteps fading away, but she didn't move until she was completely sure that she wouldn't come back. So, it seemed that Kaylynn was partially right. Avery had been involved in the accident, although she hadn't been the one to actually bewitch the Bludger. Riley had mentioned the person being a 'he', so that narrowed down the gender, but there were many male students at Hogwarts. How could she expect to narrow any of them down? Once she was sure that they were gone, she quickly left the Owlery, her mind reeling with questions that she was sure wouldn't be answered for the longest time.


	14. Chapter 14: Beating Hearts

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* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen: Shrinking Solutions and Beating Hearts**

Juniper plopped down onto the bench between Kaylynn and James and began filling her plate. She hadn't realized that they, plus Eileen, who was sitting across from them, were staring at her until she lifted her fork.

"What?" she asked. "Haven't you ever seen a hungry person before?"

"Not someone who looks like they crawled out of the rubbish bin," Kaylynn said. "Did something happen?"

Juniper frowned and lowered her utensil. "No, what makes you say that?" She hoped they wouldn't hear the nervous tone in her voice. She tightened her ponytail, which had loosened slightly. She made a mental note to remember that ponytails and hair fingering did not mix very well.

"Juniper?" James asked, tilting his head at her. "Did something happen in the Owlery."

She shook her head. "You'd be a little windswept, as well, if you'd ran from one of the towers, all the way down here." She hoped that excuse would suffice.

"That's not the look of someone who is windswept," Eileen spoke up, picking off a piece of crust from her toasted sandwich. "That's the look of someone who is positively mortified and very nervous."

Why did Eileen have to be so observant? "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I don't know how many times I've said this, but you're not a very good liar, Juniper." James lifted an eyebrow.

Juniper was silent. How could she tell James or any of them what she'd heard? She had no idea how Eileen would react, as Juniper had only known the girl for a month and a half, but James and Kaylynn would probably go around the school making threats to every male student and, most likely, carrying out those threats. She hated having to go to them with her problems. She was sure that they would get annoyed with her after a little while, Kaylynn had already displayed some displeasure in the past.

"Can we please just drop it?" Juniper had almost said it in a less than courteous way, but was forced to bite her tongue, as she wasn't the type to curse that often.

"You can't just keep things bottled up," Eileen said.

Kaylynn shook her head. "Trust me, once you really get to know Juniper, you'll realize that she keeps a lot of things bottled up."

"I do not!" Juniper protested. "There are just some things I don't like to share. What's so wrong with that?"

James sighed. "There's nothing wrong with it, but it depends on how you go about it. You're always skirting around certain subjects, and every time something is clearly wrong, you try to avoid it all together, or you come up with some lie."

"What is this, gang up on Juniper day?" the flustered Hufflepuff asked. Part of her realized that she was being rather whiny right now, but she didn't care. Why couldn't they see that she didn't want to talk about what she'd heard?

"It's clear you have certain things on your mind," James said as he stood up. "I'm not going to continue pushing you to talk, but you know I'm all ears if you ever want to." With that, he walked back over to the Gryffindor table. Juniper watched him before turning back around. Kaylynn and Eileen looked at her for a second before focusing on their food, which relieved Juniper. At least they had decided to drop the matter, for now.

* * *

James set out the various potions ingredients. Since today was Monday, there was another tutoring session with Juniper. Over the weekend, Juniper had agreed to let him help her work on her Potions and she needed assistance more than ever after setting Eileen's cauldron on fire, even if it was an accident. As James finished setting out the ingredients, Professor Slughorn came out of his office.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter, another night of tutoring?" he asked.

James nodded. "Yes, sir." When he first started tutoring Juniper, he had asked Professor Slughorn if he could use the Potions Lab from time to time. The Professor gave him permission as long as the mess was cleaned up, afterwards.

"I hope to see you at my Christmas Party this year, especially after you managed to skirt around the last one."

James laughed nervously. The truth of the matter was that he'd only been to two of Slughorn's parties and had always found them to be very dull affairs. James wanted to be successful in life, and he didn't think that meeting a wide variety of celebrities would help him achieve his goals.

"Miss Clayton, what a pleasant surprise." James looked up as Professor Slughorn addressed Juniper.

"Hi, professor, sorry for inconveniencing you like this by using your classroom."

"Quite all right, quite all right. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, my door is always open. I trust you're feeling much better after the incident that happened last Thursday?"

"Yes, sir, my leg is as good as new."

"Splendid! Well, I'll leave you both two it." After he had left, James focused his attention on Juniper. She seemed to be rather uncomfortable and was nervously tugging at the hem of her black and yellow Quidditch jumper.

"You all right?" he asked, frowning slightly.

Juniper shook her head. "I was kind of a um...bi-bi-I wasn't very nice to you earlier during lunch and I'm sorry."

James grinned. "I hardly think what happened earlier would qualify as you being a bitch." Juniper winced at the word. "Sorry," he added quickly. "You just had a lot on your mind and if you want to talk about it, you will."

Juniper seemed to relax and came over to stand near the table. "So, what are we going to be making today?" she asked.

" _You_ are going to be making a Shrinking Solution. I'll just sit here and watch and advise here and there," James said.

"Oh, shouldn't I be learning something slightly more advanced, like a Poison Antidote or a Wit Sharpening Potion?"

"Well, I had thought of that, but considering you are struggling in this class, I thought it would be best to start with something a little more simple, but not too simple. Plus, there's a very slim chance of you catching the cauldron on fire," he smirked.

"You'd be surprised," Juniper muttered as she found the recipe towards the middle of her Potions book. With her eyes on the page, she reached for, what she thought was, the Shrivelfigs.

"That's the leeches," James said.

Juniper, realizing that it would be easier to actually look at the ingredients, took her eyes off of the book and managed to grab the right ingredient, which she then proceeded to juice, before stirring the potion and proceeding to heat it.

"Do you have anything planned for Halloween?" James asked as Juniper began chopping the daisy roots.

"Er...besides the feast? Not really, why?" She added the roots to the cauldron and proceeded to grab the caterpillars. Fortunately, they were deceased, so she didn't feel so bad about adding them to the bubbling concoction.

"Well, you know Chris?" Juniper nodded. "He's supposed to be having a party in the Room of Requirement that evening after the feast. I figured you might want to come."

Juniper made a face. "I'm really not the partying type," she said.

"Careful." James nodded towards the potion. "You don't want to add too much wormwood."

"Oh." Juniper began stirring as vigorously as her arms would allow her.

"It should be fun, and everyone likes dressing up for Halloween," he grinned playfully. "I think I'd love to see you dressed up, even if it's in a white sheet with two little eyeholes."

"I'd rather not mutilate some sheets just to look like a poor excuse for a ghost," she said scowling while juicing four leeches. "Ugh, this is so gross."

James chuckled. "So, what do you say? You want to go?"

"I don't know. I'll think about it." Juniper continued working on the potion. James was happy to see that she was getting it correct and hadn't started any fires. He couldn't help, but smile at her determined expression.

"You're really cute when you're focused like that."

Juniper blushed and nearly dropped the large spoon that she was holding. James reached across the table to help steady her hand. He looked at her and couldn't help, but notice the flecks of green and brown in her hazel eyes. Her lips parted slightly, and he found himself with the overwhelming urge to kiss her. He'd kissed a few girls before and had more than one girlfriend in the past, but Juniper did certain things to him. He wondered what it would be like to pin her against the wall and...his thoughts trailed off as he mentally shook his head, realizing that he was thinking very inappropriate thoughts and immediately released her hand.

"Er...I guess I'd better get back to the potion then," Juniper said, but her voice shook slightly.

James did the best he could to grin his thoughts away. "That might be best." He watched her work, talking every once in awhile about, what he considered to be, safe subjects. Soon, before them in the small cauldron, was a an acid green Shrinking Solution. James flicked his wand, using a Summoning Charm on a clear flask.

"This could come in handy," he said as he began to fill the flask and corked it before holding it out for Juniper to take.

"Sure, but I doubt I'll never need to shrink anything," she said.

"You never know," James said grinning at her. "Anything could happen."

James spent the rest of the tutoring session helping Juniper with one of her essays that she was having trouble with before the two of them cleaned up the classroom, then James walked her back to the Hufflepuff dorms.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "I also hope to see you at the Halloween Party," he added.

"Tomorrow for sure, but I'm still on the fence about the party."

James laughed. "You'll have fun, trust me." He winked at her, then turned and strode off.

* * *

"You're seriously going like that?" Kaylynn asked, wrinkling her nose as she looked at the brown haired Hufflepuff standing before her. It was the evening of the Halloween Party. Juniper, Kaylynn, and Eileen were in the girls' dorm. The three other fourth years had already headed down to the Room of Requirement where the party would be held.

Juniper peered through the eye-holes of the white sheet. "I don't see what's wrong with this. It's a perfectly acceptable Halloween costume. After all, aren't ghosts usually associated with this holiday?"

"But we were supposed to both go as pirates!" Kaylynn wailed. "I was going to be the captain and you were going to be my first mate!"

"Why not ask Eileen then?" Juniper looked over at the dark haired Hufflepuff who was sitting cross legged on her bed with a thick book in front of her. "What are you going as?"

Eileen moved the book aside and slid off her bed. She walked towards her trunk and opened it. After rummaging through it for a few seconds, she produced, what appeared to be, a normal headband, but attached to them were a pair of faux cat ears.

"Tada." Eileen slipped the ears onto her head. "I'm a cat."

"You don't have a tail," Kaylynn pointed out.

"I'm a bobtail cat," Eileen amended.

Kaylynn groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose before picking up the extra pirate hat on the bed and holding it out to Juniper. "Please, at least just wear this?"

Even though Juniper was perfectly happy with her pitiful costume, she still took the pirate hat and put it atop her head. "I suppose there are ghost pirates," she relented with a sigh.

Kaylynn grinned and leaned down to kiss Juniper on the cheek. "Thank you!" she said gratefully leaving the other Hufflepuff a little shell-shocked. The only thing left for Juniper to do was slip on her shoes, which she did. Soon, the three of them were on their way to the Room of Requirement.


	15. Chapter 15: The Halloween Party

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* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen: The Halloween Party**

The party was in full swing by the time that Juniper, Kaylynn, and Eileen reached the Room of Requirement, which was filled with Halloween decorations, including floating candles in shapes of ghosts, black cats, pumpkins, and many other spooky things, as well as black and orange banners, which said "Happy Halloween" on them. The words had been bewitched to change colors.

"Hey, there's Albus!" Kaylynn exclaimed, waving to the green eyed Gryffindor, who was dressed as a wolf, complete with a furry grey costume, ears, and a tail. She walked over to him and practically dragged him out to the center of the floor where a few other students were dancing. Juniper shook her head. Leave it to Kaylynn to be so bold, Juniper only wished she could be brave like that.

"Do you want something to drink?" Eileen asked, pointing to the large refreshments table that was filled with a wide assortment of treats. Of course, since the Room of Requirement couldn't food or drink, it could be assumed that it had been brought from the outside.

Juniper shook her head. "I think I'm going to find a corner to hide in." She began to back away and found herself lightly crashing into someone. She nearly fell over, but a pair of hands steadied her shoulders.

"Careful." The voice belonged to James. Juniper turned around to face him. He looked very handsome in his vampire costume, his fangs looked very real. Juniper assumed that he might have transfigured his teeth.

"Nice costume," she said. He peered at her, then drew back surprised.

"Juniper?" he chuckled. "I almost didn't recognize you under that sheet." He lightly flicked the feather of her pirate hat. "So, you're some kind of ghost pirate?"

She blushed. "I guess you can say that. I see you decided to go as one of the creatures of the night?

James grinned impishly, his fangs gleaming as he tipped his hat. "Are you going to let me nibble on your neck?" he teased.

Juniper's blush only deepened as she imagined him pulling her close and kissing her neck while teasingly biting here and there. She shook her head. What was wrong with her?

"By the way, I'm glad you decided to come."

She was jolted out of her accidental fantasy. "I'm still tempted to leave." Juniper rubbed her arms uncomfortably. "I really hate large crowds like this."

James frowned. "So, I guess this means you won't be going to the New Years Ball?"

Juniper cringed for she had forgotten all about the ball. She wrung her hands nervously. "I really don't know how to dance," she muttered, looking down at her feet.

James smiled and took her hand, causing Juniper to look up. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I think it's about time you had your first dance lesson then." He started to lead her towards the center of the room where the other partygoers were dancing. The music had changed into something mildly upbeat.

"James, no. I'll make a fool of myself," Juniper protested.

"If you can fly as well as you do, then you can dance," James said confidently. "Although, you may want to take off the sheet so you don't accidentally step on it."

Juniper hesitated. She had no idea why James was bothering trying to help her. She had two left feet and the fact that there were a lot of other people around made it much worse, despite the fact that they didn't really seem to be paying much attention to them. Juniper closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What could go wrong? It was just a process of moving one's feet in rhythm with the music. Surely she wouldn't have to do anything fancy. She removed the pirate hat and white sheet, the latter of which she shrank to the size of a handkerchief with her wand and stuffed into her pocket before she placed the hat atop her head again.

James' callused hand felt so warm and strong as he led her to the dance floor. There, he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She was sure he could feel her heart beating rapidly through her blue jumper. Her heart skipped a beat as he grinned at her.

"Just follow me and try and do what I do." Yet, the minute she moved, she stepped on his right foot.

"Sorry!" she cried as he winced. "This is stupid. I told you I can't." She began to pull away, but James held fast to her hand.

"Oh, no you don't. My right foot will live." He winked at her. Juniper bit down on her bottom lip and nodded before beginning to move again, following his movements. Yet, she felt awkward and her steps were very stiff.

"Relax," he whispered into her ear. "You're way too tense, loosen up."

"But I feel like everyone is staring at me." Juniper said quietly.

"No one's even paying attention to us," James assured her.

 _This is a waste of time,_ Juniper thought. _There's no way I can learn how to dance._

 _'Are you serious right now?'_ an impatient voice inside Juniper's head demanded. _'You're a Hufflepuff: hard-working and loyal! Are you really going to say that you can't just because something is a challenge? If you're going to just quit, then maybe you don't belong in such a House?'_

Juniper's hazel eyes blazed with determination as she looked up at James. It was just dancing, not some grueling History of Magic essay. She relaxed her shoulders and found herself moving her feet once again.

"That's it," James said proudly. "You don't have to do anything fancy, just move to the music, feel the rhythm."

Juniper couldn't believe it, but she was actually starting to enjoy herself and she managed not to step on James' feet anymore. She wouldn't win any awards, but at least she was dancing. When the song ended, another immediately replaced it. James ceased dancing.

"So, you want to keep trying, or take a break and get something to drink?"

"I think I need a break," Juniper replied waving her hand in front of her face to cool herself off.

"I'll get you some punch." James released her hand and walked over to the refreshments table. Juniper decided that it would be best to find a place to sit so that she wasn't just standing in the middle of the dance floor. She couldn't help, but grin from ear to ear. She'd absolutely loved the feeling of James holding her close like that and feeling safe in his arms.

"You're looking proud of yourself," a voice sneered. Juniper turned and saw Avery smirking at her. The Hufflepuff's confidence dropped to about a zero. The dark haired Ravenclaw was dressed as a genie, her sky blue costume showing off her perfect physique. Upon seeing her, Juniper took an involuntary step back. Juniper had thought that she, herself, looked pretty all right, but upon laying her eyes on Avery, she realized that she looked like a frumpy homeless person compared to the beautiful blue-eyed girl.

"What do you want, Burke?" she asked, trying her very best to keep her voice steady.

Avery flipped her high ponytail off her shoulder and folded her arms across her chest. "You really think that just because James is paying attention to you and hanging out with you that you have a chance with him? Please, the thought of you with him is laughable."

Juniper wanted to just walk away, but she didn't. She chose to stand her ground against Avery, regardless of what might have happened to her. "You're just jealous." She cringed inwardly at the horrible retort.

Avery threw her head back and laughed. "Me? Jealous of you? Oh, that's rich." She leaned in closely, her eyes piercing into Juniper's. "Let's face it, sweetheart, everything about you is a joke, even your pure-blood status."

The Hufflepuff felt a painful lump build up in her throat, but she forced it down where it settled in the pit of her stomach like a heavy stone weighing her down. She clenched her fists. "I may not be the most talented witch at Hogwarts or even in the Wizarding World, but at least I come from an honest family. Too bad you can't say the same for yours."

Avery's eyes blazed with anger. Juniper knew that she had gotten to her. "You really think you're better than me just because your father got mine sacked? I don't think so."

"You're father got sacked because he embezzled a lot of money from the department he worked in at the Ministry. It's sad that you refuse to acknowledge the crime he committed and continue to hold on to your hatred, even after all these years." Having nothing more to say, Juniper turned to walk away, but Avery grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around.

"Don't think that this is over. You have no idea what I'm capable of. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you suffer." She released Juniper's shoulders, pushing her slightly as she did so, then turned and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Kaylynn came up beside Juniper. "What the hell did she say to you?"

Juniper didn't want a scene to be started, so she shook her head. "Nothing," she said.

"Wait!" Kaylynn called as Juniper began walking towards James. "Tell me what she said!"

"Who said what now?" James asked approaching Juniper and handing her a clear glass of red punch.

"Seriously, it was nothing. Avery was just flapping her big mouth, that's all."

Kaylynn narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you punch her in the face or stick your wand in her eye or something?"

Juniper shrugged. "It just wasn't worth it. Avery would never try to attack me in front of so many people."

"No, she'll wait until you're alone, like in the girls' lavatory and then brutally beat you until you're all bruised up until you can't move because of a Full-Body Bind."

Juniper clenched her jaw and gave her best friend a look, for this was all said right in front of James who looked at her in shock. "Wait, Avery attacked you? Why didn't I hear about this?"

"Thanks a lot, Lynn," Juniper muttered angrily.

"I'm sorry, but it was bound to come out sooner or later."

Juniper silently counted to ten so as not to lose her temper. "I need to sit down." She sat on the lounge next to Eileen, who had a Blood Pop in her mouth and was watching the exchange between the three, silently.

"June." James sat down beside her. "When did this happen?"

"What does it matter?" Juniper said taking a sip of her punch. "It's over and done with. Clearly, I didn't suffer any long lasting damage from it. So, I would rather not talk about it. I just want to enjoy the party."

James looked like he wanted to say something else, but closed his mouth and sighed. "All right, but I wish you wouldn't have kept this from me."

"I didn't want you to think that I was weak and that you had to constantly protect me."

James smiled. "Just because you ran into some trouble, that doesn't make you weak. It happens to all of us."

 _I bet you've never been frozen, unable to move and had four pairs of pointy shoes kicking you in the side until you felt like your ribs were going to break._ She immediately felt bad for having such bitter thoughts.

"Maybe, but it's really no big deal. Honestly, it could have been a lot worse." She thought of what she had overheard Cheri and Riley talking about in the Owlery. She still had no idea who could have been persuaded by Avery to bewitch the Bludger. After all, Avery seemed to hang out with a wide variety of male students, who were so enchanted by her beauty, that they didn't see the snake she was underneath that pretty smile and honey-like voice. In fact, there were about four male students surrounding her at that moment while she flirted. It could have been any of them.

Luckily, James and Kaylynn didn't talk anymore about Juniper's incident in the bathroom that happened towards the beginning of the term, and Juniper managed to push Avery's threats to the back of her mind and enjoy the rest of the party.

* * *

It was now Sunday, and the day after the Halloween Party. Since there were no classes, everyone in the fifth year Gryffindor dorms was sleeping in late, well, almost everyone. A certain skinny bespectacled wizard had awoken and was now getting dressed. With it being November, James knew that it would be cold outside, so he wrapped his scarlet and gold Gryffindor scarf around his neck before sitting down to slip on his shoes. The rest of the fifth year Gryffindors showed no signs of waking up and since they were all mostly heavy sleepers, he didn't really have to try and be quiet as he walked down the stairs towards the common room, but not before grabbing something from his trunk.

A few younger Gryffindors were awake and relaxing near the fireplace, some were just hanging out in small groups talking. Lily was trading Wizard Cards with a few of her friends and Albus and Rose were bent over a Wizard Chess set. Albus appeared to be deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to beat his cousin who took after her father when it came to the game. James bid them a good morning before exiting out of the common room through the portrait hole.

James found himself wondering if Juniper was awake yet. He stopped in the corridor and pulled the thing that he had grabbed from his trunk out of his pocket. It was the Marauders Map, which had belonged to his father and grandfather before him. James had knicked it just before his fourth year at Hogwarts. He gave it a tap with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Lines began to fill the parchment, creating an exact replica of the school that showed nearly every single room in the school and where everyone was located. The only room that wasnt shown on the map was the Room of Requirement. Why that was, James had never found out. In the back of his mind, he realized that this was probably stalking, but it was too late to turn back now. After a quick perusal of the map, he discovered that Juniper was actually outside on the Quidditch Pitch with the rest of the Hufflepuff team, which meant that they were having a practice

"Mischief Managed." The map was wiped clean and pocketed it before traversing down the many moving staircases and heading outside. There were a few people in the stands, watching the practice, most of them were Hufflepuffs, but there were also about two Ravenclaws, a Gryffindor second year, and Jaenelle and her two friends. James sat down near Juniper's sister.

"Hey, Potter," Jaenelle said.

James grinned. "Hey, yourself. You ladies are looking lovely this morning." He winked at them. Even though James was kind of flirting with them, it didn't mean anything like it did with Juniper. It was all in good fun, but with Juniper it was something more serious, at least he hoped.

"Hufflepuff is looking pretty good out there," Lori said. She was holding a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and offered some to James, who declined. After he had accidentally eaten a vomit flavored bean two years ago, he refused to touch them ever again.

"Woo! Go Juniper!" Jaenelle cheered, jumping up as her sister scored a goal. "Watching this makes me wish that I had joined the Slytherin team, but since I have no hand-eye coordination, I decided that I'd better not."

James chuckled. "Well, if Hogwarts ever has a cheer squad, you can be the captain of that."

"Damn straight." Jaenelle glanced at James. "By the way, has there been any news about the rematch between Hufflepuff and Slytherin? I figured you'd know since you play Quidditch."

James wracked his brain, trying to remember the Quidditch Schedule. "Er, I think it may be scheduled for next Wednesday."

"Let's hope that nothing bad happens at this one. I swear, I felt it when Juniper was hit with that Bludger," Marisa said. "She's brave to get back up on a broom, especially when something like that could happen again."

James turned his attention back towards the Quidditch field. The three Chasters were practicing dodging Bludgers, while simultaneously passing the Quaffle to one another. The practice went on for another hour, a few more students came by to watch, but James didn't pay any attention to them. When the practice ended, the Hufflepuff team began walking off the field. Jaenelle and her two friends waved as James left the stands in order to meet up with Juniper.

"Great job on that speed, Clayton," Sean said as the team was coming out of the long tunnel. "We'll work on that maneuver next time." He waved to James before he walked back up to the castle with Rachel, holding hands with her. The rest of the Hufflepuff team dispersed as well.

"I'll see you in the common room," Kaylynn said, clapping Juniper on the shoulder before she jogged after the rest of the team.

"Alone at last," James said playfully, pleased to see Juniper blush.

"I guess so." Her ponytail had come loose while she had been flying and was now windswept.

"You should wear your hair down more often. It's really pretty." He mentally kicked himself because of how stupid his words sounded.

"Thanks, I think." Juniper tucked a lock of hair behind her left ear. "But it's a real pain in the neck to manage. That's why I usually wear it up all the time."

The two of them began to walk back towards the castle in a very comfortable silence. James couldn't help, but notice that Juniper had her hands shoved into her pockets and was shivering slightly.

"Wait." They stopped and James unwound his scarf from his neck and placed it around Juniper's.

"You really don't have to," Juniper protested. "You'll catch a cold."

"Nothing a little Pepper-up Potion won't fix. I'm not about to let you freeze." He helped her wrap it around her neck. "It looks good on you," he added with a flirtatious grin.

Juniper lightly felt the warm material and James was pleased to see her smile. They continued walking again, talking mostly about Quidditch and their classes. When they finally reached the castle, Juniper tried to give James his scarf back, but he shook his head. "Keep it, I have three more. Besides, it looks a lot better on you than it does on me. You really suit the Gryffindor colors."

"Are you sure?" James nodded and Juniper lowered her hands leaving the scarf draped around her neck, but unwound since they were inside now.

"You want to keep me company in the library?" James asked. "I have two essays due tomorrow."

Juniper nodded. "I actually have a few due, myself. So I need to head there, anyways. I need to grab my stuff so I'll meet you there."

The two of them separated, for now, each going into their respective common rooms to grab their books before heading to the library.


	16. Chapter 16: Library Fantasies

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* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen: Library Fantasies**

A few days after Halloween, Juniper sat in Charms class in between Kaylynn and Eileen. They were learning how to successfully cast the polar opposite of the Summoning Charm, the Banishing Charm. Unfortunately, they had class with the Ravenclaws, which also meant that Avery and her brood of followers were in class as well. Juniper and Eileen had managed to grasp the charm fairly quickly, but Kaylynn was struggling. The cushion she was attempting to banish to the small box on the other side of the room remained stationary, no matter which direction she moved her wand.

"I think this thing hates me," Kaylynn said pouting as she lightly poked the cushion with her wand.

"Accio cushion!" Juniper summoned her cushion so that she could practice banishing it again. "Just watch what I do." She flicked her wrist in a sweeping motion and muttered, "Depulso!" The cushion flew steadily across the room and landed neatly in the box once again.

"Well, of course you can do it." Kaylynn sighed in frustration. "You've never struggled with this class." She tried again, this time the cushion moved, but this time it flew right into Professor Flitwick's face causing the blonde Hufflepuff to wince. "Whoops, sorry Professor!"

"I do struggle with some spells in the beginning, such as the Seize and Pull Charm, Carpe Retractum, remember? I didn't master that until close to the end of last year just before exams, remember? Then, there was the Scouring Charm. That spell made me want to tear my hair out before I got the hang of it."

"Okay, okay, I get it. But the point is you still manage these charms sooner or later."

"Maybe instead of complaining, you should keep trying," Eileen suggested as she caught her cushion again. "I think we can agree that we're pretty talented in different areas while we struggle in others."

Kaylynn glanced disdainfully at her cushion, which she had summoned again. "Well, here goes nothing." She flicked her wand in a sweeping motion, aiming for the box on the other side of the room. "Depulso." The cushion lifted and slowly flew, making its way across the classroom. Kaylynn grinned widely as it landed safely inside the box.

"Good job!" Juniper said proudly, clapping her friend on the back. "See, I knew you could do it. Now, keep practicing."

"It's too bad we lost the rematch against Slytherin," Kaylynn said as her cushion flew back into her outstretched hand.

"Yes, but we did score some goals and managed to keep up quite well with them. They just had the faster Seeker," Juniper said. "I'm just glad that I didn't end up in the Hospital Wing again. I would have gone insane from boredom."

"Maybe the pendant protected you," Eileen said with a light smile, glancing at the necklace around Juniper's neck, which she never took off unless she showered or slept.

Juniper ran her fingers across the peridot. "I don't know, it's possible." She tucked the pendant back into her blouse and picked up her wand again.

"You're stupid if you think some old necklace can protect you," Avery sneered. She was sitting a few feet away with Michelle.

"Why don't you mind your own business, Burke?" Kaylynn spat, her voice filled with loathing. "Go stare in a mirror or something you vain, conceited, pompus slag."

Avery narrowed her blue eyes and sneered at Juniper. "Are you really going to let some ugly Mudblood fight for you?"

Kaylynn raised her wand. "No, wait!" Juniper called, for she didn't want her best friend getting into trouble. Yet, it wasn't Kaylynn who uttered a spell.

"Melofors!" This came from Eileen. The dark haired Hufflepuff pointed her wand at Avery causing a large pumpkin to land on the Ravenclaw's head. She let out a loud shriek.

"I really hate that word," Eileen said darkly, narrowing her eyes. "If it wasn't for Muggles and Muggle-borns, the entire race of witches and wizards would have died out a long time ago." However, the commotion had alerted Professor Flitwick as well as a few students.

"Miss Mariano, what is the meaning of this?" the tiny Professor squeaked. "Ten points from Hufflepuff and you will serve detention tonight after dinner!" He flicked his wand and the pumpkin disappeared from Avery's head.

"You shouldn't have done that," Juniper whispered. "Avery was only looking to provoke one of us so that we would get into trouble."

"Come off it, June," Kaylynn said giddily. "You have to admit that it was awesome! I'd say it was a definite improvement to her normal face."

Juniper scowled at first, but then started to laugh along with her friends. The rest of the class went by without a hitch, except for Avery giving them dirty looks and whispering to Michelle behind their backs, but that was nothing too new.

* * *

"It's pouring outside, why in Merlin's name are we having practice?" Liam asked, looking out one of the windows as James walked down the third floor corridor with his friends. Classes were over for the day and, as usual, the Professors had bombarded them with enough homework to make their heads spin.

"I booked the field for this afternoon, rain or shine. You'll get over it. Besides, there's a good chance we may have to play out in this kind of weather during our match with Ravenclaw," James replied. He was used to his teammates complaints that they didn't really faze him anymore.

The rain showed no signs of letting up even a little bit as James met with the rest of his teammates on the Quidditch Pitch. He removed his glasses briefly and cast the Impervius spell on them so the water wouldn't hinder his vision.

"Well, there go my curls," grimaced Chaser and fourth year, Miriam McLaggen as she ran her fingers through her wet dirty blonde hair and glared at James. "I do believe that our captain has gone insane."

"He's gone positively mental," agreed fifth year Keeper, Diana Wood.

"All right, that's enough complaining," James said firmily. "Everyone mount your broomsticks, i want to go over a few drills first."

The Gryffindor team cursed as they took off into the air. Miriam was continously giving him dirty looks, but James ignored them. No one could ever say he didn't work his team to the bone. Halfway through the practice, a Snitch was released so that Jordan Marks, the team Seeker, could practice catching it. The practice was going well until Liam, who was also a Chaser, got into a heated debate with Diana.

"You're supposed to be watching the ball and trying to block the shot!" he yelled over the roaring sound of the rain.

"It's bloody well hard to see enough as it is, even with the damned Impervius spell on my goggles! I'm trying the best I can!"

"You're not trying hard enough!"

"Well, maybe your aim is just so poor!"

"That's enough!" James called angrily. "If you two are just going to do nothing, but fight, then get off of the field! Otherwise, shut up and do what you're actually supposed to do!"

Liam and Diana glared at each other, but stopped arguing. Albus shook his head, his lips twitching with a telltale smile. "Honestly, I think those two would be a lot happier if they just snogged one good time."

"Not helping," James muttered before directing his attention back to the practice. It lasted for another hour and a half before he was completely exhausted, and he could tell that his teammates were on the verge of dropping, as well.

"That could have been a little better," James said as they landed. They didn't say anything, but it was clear that Liam and Miriam were still mad at one another. "Be prepared to be up at five Saturday morning!"

The team looked at each other and then at their captain with disdain. "You may have to carry me out here," Hugo said, earning nods of agreement.

"Just be out here," James said impatiently as his teammates walked off the field. All James wanted to do now was take a long hot shower and eat, but there was still an hour before dinner.

* * *

Juniper was bent over about three large books in the library with a few scattered pieces of parchment. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as she struggled to complete the Defense Against The Dark Arts essay on the Ebublio Jinx. The spell, itself, had been fairly easy to grasp after a few practice sessions, but as Juniper hated essays, the written part was proving to be quite challenging.

"Working hard or hardly working?" a voice asked. Juniper looked up from her books and parchement and saw Seth, one of James' friends.

"Er...I'm still trying to decide." Juniper sighed and sat back.

He took a peek at her essay. "The Ebublio Jinx, huh?"

"If only this essay would write itself."

Seth chuckled and sat down next to her. "I don't know about that, but I can help you if you want."

Juniper shook her head. "It's all right. The essay is easy, but I'm still a lot better at the practical stuff."

"I see."

Juniper didn't really talk to James' friends all that much. Liam and Jordan made her feel uncomfortable most of the time, but Seth seemed pretty all right from the few time she did exchange words with him. She dipped her quill into her ink and was about to start writing again when Seth spoke.

"So, you hang out with Eileen, right?"

"Sometimes," Juniper replied. There were still times when Eileen went off on her own as she seemed to like solitude. "Why?"

"Do you think she may be interested in coming with me to Hogsmeade on the next visit?"

Juniper could see that she would not be completing the essay with Seth there, but she didn't get angry. "I, honestly, don't know. I'm the wrong person to talk to. Maybe you could ask her, yourself."

Seth rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. "Well, I would, but I wouldn't know how to approach her."

"Aren't you Gryffindors supposed to be daring and chivalrous?"

Seth chuckled. "Well, going up against a challenge like a deadly opponent or a dark creature is a lot different than asking a pretty girl out. So, what do you say? Will you help me out?"

Juniper thought for a moment. "I really hate to turn you down, but I really think that Eileen would like it more if you asked her, yourself."

Seth looked disappointed. "Oh, well, okay then. I'm sorry to take up so much of your time."

Juniper smiled reassuringly. "It's no problem. You're always welcome to come talk to me."

He shook his head, smiling. "Why James hasn't asked you to be his girlfriend, yet, is beyond me."

Juniper laughed along with him before he said good-bye and left the library, but his words still lingered. She was just good friends with James. True, she liked him a lot and he flirted with her, but that didn't necessarily mean anything as he sometimes flirted with Kaylynn, as well. She worked for a little while longer, managing to finish her essay, although she made a mental note to go over it later to make sure that it made sense. She stuffed her books and parchement back into her satchel and, since there was still twenty minutes left, decided to peruse the library to see if she could find a book that tickled her fancy.

She stopped in front of a book that featured the life of Helga Hufflepuff. Juniper only knew a little bit about the namesake of her House and thought that the book might be interesting. She only hoped that she would have the attention span to sit down and read it. She plucked the book from the shelf and began to flip through it.

"Looking to do a bit of light reading?"

The voice startled Juniper and she dropped the book. Kneeling down, she picked it up and brushed it off before turning around. James was standing before her, grinning toothily. It was very clear that he had just gotten out of the shower as his black hair was slightly damp and she could smell the body wash radiating from him. His shirt was untucked and the top two buttons were undone, revealing a small portion of his chest. He looked so effortlessly handsome that Juniper found it almost impossible to speak at first.

"Well, I figure it would help put me to sleep at night," she said finally regaining use of her tongue again. Why did he have to look so good? For a brief moment, she imagined him pushing her against one of the bookshelves, pressing his lips down on hers and running his callused warm hands over her body. She wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through his hair. She bet it was soft and probably smelled divine.

He leaned in closer to get a good view at the title of the book. She was now enveloped with his scent and it made her, for lack of a better phrase, weak at the knees. "So, you want to learn a bit about one of the Founders?"

Juniper nodded, her throat dry. "Y-Yes...I've always been meaning to, but always forgot about it. What are you doing in here?"

"I actually just had to return a book and I saw you, so I decided to see what you were up to."

"Oh." The thought that he wanted to talk to her made her feel rather giddy and she couldn't help, but smile. James accompanied her towards the front of the library where Madame Pince was sitting behind the front desk.

"Try to bring this book back in one piece," the librarian said as she stamped the book and also recorded the date in a massive tome.

"Lovely old ball of sunshine, isn't she?" James asked, smirking as the two of them left the library. "I swear, Mr. Filch and she are made for each other."

Juniper giggled softly at the image of Mr. Filch and Madame Pince as husband and wife. They would definitely make an interesting pair. At that moment, Mrs. Norris the Second trotted by and stopped, her yellowing eyes glaring piercingly at the two students. The original Mrs. Norris had died long before Juniper had started her first year at Hogwarts. At least, this is what she had been told by Professor Longbottom.

James glared at the feline. "Off with you, we're not doing anything wrong."

Mrs. Norris flicked her tail and continued on her way. "Normally I like cats, but that one deserves a swift kick in the arse."

"James!" Juniper admonished. "She's not that bad."

He shrugged. "It's still tempting, though."

Juniper then remembered something. "Oh, right, how was practice?"

James scowled. "You don't even want to know. It's like they don't respect me. Liam and Miriam got into a heated argument and that just brought the whole mood down. I had always wanted to be team captain and now I finally got my wish, but there are times when I wonder if I'm the right person for the job."

Juniper frowned. "It was just one bad practice. You can't expect them all to go perfectly, people disagree all the time. It doesn't make you a bad captain. If anything, you're one of the best captains I've ever known." She blushed furiously at those last words.

Like magic, James' frown turned into a smile. "Thanks, June. Who knows, with Sean graduating this year, the role of Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain may pass down onto you."

The Hufflepuff made a face. "Yeah, right. I definitely don't have what it takes to be a captain. The thought of six other people actually listening to me is laughable. Besides, Kaylynn would definitely be better suited for the job. Her heart would be more in it than mine. I just like flying. I'm only a fair player."

"You should stop being so modest all the time. I've seen you play many times. You could definitely go on to play for the Holyhead Harpies like my mum did."

Juniper couldn't help, but smile. The Harpies were definitely her favorite team. She had been to one of their matches with Kaylynn when she was around twelve and it was the most fun she'd had in years. "I, honestly, have no idea what I want to do after I graduate. I mean, I still have three years left and I know those are the hardest."

"You're telling me, the spells are very fun, but the essays are murder."

"Yet, you always seem to get top marks on your papers. So, they can't be that hard for you."

"They're challenging on their own, but don't sell yourself short. I mean, the fact that you were able to cast the Protean Charm on our watches quite easily is very impressive. From what I can tell, the only areas you struggle in are Potions and Transfiguration and you've been improving since we started those tutoring sessions."

It was true, she had managed to correctly brew a few potions as well as finally succeed in transfiguring her desk into a pig. "I still have a long way to go and Transfiguration only gets harder as you go along."

James nodded in agreement. "That's true, but you shouldn't let it discourage you, even if it is a head-ache half the time."

Juniper's lips twitched in amusement as the thought of the complicated formulas that made up Transfiguration, which often made her head hurt. "You just explain it in a way that makes it more simple," she admitted, blushing. "I don't think I would ever have improved without you." She couldn't believe she had been so bold as to say that, but he smiled just the same.

"Truth be told, I enjoy our tutoring sessions, but I like spending time with you much more." His words caused Juniper to bite down softly on her lower lip. Unfortunately, they arrived at the Great Hall and had to separate to go eat at their respective tables.

"Since the rain has stopped, want to go for a walk outside, afterwards?" James asked.

Juniper nodded, watching as he grinned widely, then turned and walked towards the Gryffindor table. Juniper smiled to herself and practically skipped to the Hufflepuff table to sit next to Kaylynn.


	17. Chapter 17: Detention and Arguments

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* * *

 **Chapter 17: Detention and Arguments**

Juniper, Kaylynn, and Eileen sat in the Great Hall that evening for dinner. It was bustling with so much noise and activity that they had to speak up when they talked, which was hard for Juniper as she rarely ever raised her voice for anything. Every few minutes, she would turn her head and glance over at the Gryffindor table where James was sitting with his friends. He would sometimes catch her eye and grin. Of course, this would earn him a ribbing from Liam and Jordan.

"You've got it so bad," Kaylynn said playfully.

Juniper turned back around and looked down at her plate, blushing. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's pretty obvious," Eileen said as she reached across the table to grab one of the chocolate pudding dishes that was on a silver platter. "You're not very good at hiding it."

The brown haired Hufflepuff winced. "Please tell me I'm not drooling right now."

Kaylynn chuckled. "Not yet, but if you don't stop staring at him, you may start."

Juniper buried her face into her hands. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, part of me doesn't want to like him in that sort of way because I feel we're just better off as friends, but then another part of me..." her voice trailed off as her face turned bright red.

"Another part of you wishes that he'd hurry up and make a move?" Kaylynn asked.

Juniper hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Something like that, but I don't know if it would ever happen. There have been plenty of opportunities, but he's never taken them."

"Maybe he's waiting for the right time," Eileen suggested as she licked the pudding off her spoon. "It could be possible that he's not the kind of guy who would just outright snog a girl out of nowhere, randomly."

"He's not," Juniper said with a sigh. "He's only had two girlfriends in the past and that was last year. Juniper had never said anything, but in her third year, when Juniper had been late going to Hogsmeade, she had been traveling down the deserted fourth floor corridor when she came upon a very interesting sight. James had his arms wrapped around Cynthia Verbas. Juniper couldn't believe that they could kiss for so long. Yet, it looked like Cynthia was having a lot of fun. That set Juniper to wondering what it would be like to be kissed like that.

Juniper had never thought about it, before that. Sure, she would hang around in the dorms, half listening as other girls would share their experiences about their first kisses, but she often stayed out of it as she had nothing to tell. Juniper had never admitted it, but she had never been kissed once by a member of the opposite sex. She knew that kisses from family members didn't count at all and was more than happy to keep it a secret for as long as she could.

Luckily, her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a Gryffindor third year, who had approached their table.

"Eileen Mariano?" he asked, clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. Eileen nodded and he held out the paper. "Professor Flitwick asked me to give this to you."

Eileen took the parchment and thanked him. Turning back around, she unfolded it and began to read, grimacing with each word.

Kaylynn leaned over. "What does it say?" She tried to read it, but Eileen pressed the paper to her bosom.

"Nosy," she muttered before relenting. "It says I have to clean the owl droppings in the Owlery without magic" She folded the parchment and set it aside. "Anyone want to take my place? It's really not my thing."

Juniper stole another glance towards James. She remembered agreeing to taking a walk with him after dinner, but she also couldn't ignore the cry for help from her friend. "We're not going to take your place," Juniper said as she turned back around. "But we wouldn't mind helping you out."

Kaylynn made a face. "Great, just what I always wanted to do, clean up Owl poop."

Juniper stood up. Er...excuse me." She knew she had to tell James that she wouldn't be able to go on that walk with him, so it was best to do so now. She stopped behind him, Seth, who was sitting across the table saw her.

"James, you have company." The bespectacled Gryffindor turned his head.

"Er...hi," she said nervously toying with the hem of her grey sweater vest, as usual.

"What's up?" James asked. "Muffin?" He offered her a blueberry flavored one, but Juniper shook her head.

"No, thanks. I just wanted to tell you that I can't go for a walk with you after dinner. I sort of promised Eileen that I'd help her out with her detention."

Liam smirked. "You Hufflepuffs are always so loyal, but poor Jamesie-Poo was looking forward to that little stroll."

James glared at the brunette Gryffindor sitting on his right. "Remind me to hurt you later?" he muttered before turning back to Juniper, who wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor with the way Liam was teasing her. "That's too bad, but there's always next time."

She sighed in relief, for it seemed that he wasn't really all that upset about it. "I'm sorry," she said, still feeling rather horrible about it.

He shrugged and opened his mouth to say something, but Jordan spoke up. "Oh, James will live. We'll keep him company." He slung his arm around the unruly haired Gryffindor's shoulder.

Juniper wished that she was as quick-tongued as Kaylynn so that she could say something witty, but she wasn't. Instead, she just nodded and walked back to the Hufflepuff table, leaving James to be teased by his friends.

* * *

James stopped by the dorms after dinner to peruse the Marauders Map as he had forgotten to ask Juniper where she would be. Even if he couldn't go on a walk with her, they could still spend a little time together, even if it involved Kaylynn and Eileen. Seth walked in, holding his Transfiguration book and sat down on his four-poster bed as James read the map.

"I still can't believe you haven't told her about that thing," he said as he flipped open the book.

"It just keeps slipping my mind," James said non-chalantly as he wiped the map clean with his wand and stuffed it into the back pocket of his trousers.

"Or maybe you don't want to tell her because you're afraid she'll know that you practically stalk her with that thing."

"I don't stalk her!" James said indignantly. "This map helps me see where all the secret passages are and keep tabs on the professors and prefects at night when I want to sneak down to the kitchens for a midnight snack."

Seth merely raised an eyebrow. "Yet, you almost always end up turning up where she is. Sorry, mate, but that's called stalking."

James glared at rather infuriating best friend. "I like hanging out with her, that's all," he insisted. "Is that so wrong?"

"No, but one of these days she is going to catch on. She might appreciate it more if you actually told her about the map."

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure, and then what? 'Hey, Juniper, I have this map that allows me to see where you are at all times'. That'll go over so well with her."

"You don't know how she'll react. It's best she find it out from you than someone else."

The bespectacled Gryffindor grimaced, knowing full well that Seth was right. Besides, why was he even hiding the map from her? He had no problem telling his three male friends about it. Why couldn't he do the same with her? He pondered his question as he left the Gryffindor common room and traversed the many moving staircases until he came to the Entrance Hall and went outside where the map said Juniper and her friends would be. He found them in the Owlery just like the map said they would be. The three of them were each were each holding a scrub brush and were on their hands and knees, right in the middle of the owl droppings, vigorously scrubbing. The strong soap, which they were used mingled with the droppings and caused James to wrinkle his nose briefly before he grinned. "What are you ladies up to?"

"What does it look like we're doing?" Kaylynn snapped. "We're helping Eileen with her detention."

James scratched his head. "Er...detention? What did you do?"

Eileen glanced at the droppings with disdain, looking a little green around the gills. "I hexed that Avery girl," she admitted while scrubbing very hard on a certain spot.

James chuckled and knelt down near the tub. "So, this is your punishment? What did she say to get you all riled up?"

The dark haired Hufflepuff narowed her eyes at James. "I'd rather not say it out loud."

"She called me a mudblood, pretty much," Kaylynn said as she dipped her brush into the soapy liquid

"I really don't like that word," Eileen muttered, clenching her fists.

"Sorry," Kaylynn amended as she sat up and wiped the sweat off her brow. "You know what? Screw this." She drew her wand from her pocket and began using Scourgify.

"You can't do that!" Juniper hissed. "Flitwick said no magic!"

"He meant it only for Eileen. There was nothing in that note about us not using magic."

"Still, it's not fair to Eileen if she can't use magic as well."

Kaylynn scowled and put her wand away. "But this is so gross! You can't tell me that you clean up your parents' owl's droppings by hand."

"My parents usually take care of Ferdy, themselves," Juniper said as she tucked a wayward strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her right ear.

Kaylynn waved her hand. "Whatever, anyway, Potter, how did you know where we would be?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

James rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Juniper told me that she was going to help one of her friends with something."

Juniper stopped scrubbing and looked up. "But I didn't tell you exactly where I would be," she said frowning slightly. "So, it would be impossible for you to know."

James silently cursed Seth, despite the fact that his best friend couldn't have any idea that this would happen so soon. Part of him wanted to just laugh it off and say it was a lucky guess, but it wouldn't work.

 _Stop putting it off and just show her,_ demanded that impatient voice in his head.

"Damn," he cursed as he pulled the map from his pocket. "I found you using this."

Juniper looked at, what appeared to be, a blank piece of parchment. "I don't get it. How does that help you?"

James tapped the map with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Juniper's eyes widened as the map slowly formed before her. She leaned in closer to get a better look at it, forcing James to get a good wiff of her shampoo, which smelled of rosemary and mint. If it was any other time, he would actually allow himself to enjoy the scent, but right now he was sweating bullets.

"What...it's a map of the school? But...how..." She took the map and examined it closely. "I can see everyone on here and everything. But wait, I don't see the Room of Requirement."

James was only mildly surprised that she noticed it right away. "Er...it's the only place that doesn't show up on the map. I never really found out why."

Juniper looked up from the floor "How long have you had this?" she asked, lifting her eyes upwards to meet with his.

James nervously tugged at the collar of his shirt, feeling uncomfortably hot all of a sudden, despite the fact that it was quite cool in the classroom. "For awhile," he said trying to remain casual about it.

"How long is awhile?" Juniper's tone may have indicated curiosity, but the look she was giving him certainly didn't.

He bit down on his lower lip. "I might have had it since since a little before I started my fourth year."

"I see, and you use this to see where everyone is, including me?"

"More or less." James was beginning to wish that he had lied, for Juniper's tone was now making him feel like he was being frozen in a block of ice.

Juniper didn't say anything for the longest time, making James wonder if she was just going to drop the subject. He slowly began to relax, but as soon as he stopped sweating, she spoke again.

"Who else knows about this?"

 _Crap._ He ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Jordan, Seth, and Liam know, as well as my brother and sister, along with Hugo, Rose, and a few of my other cousins."

"I see, and is there any reason why you waited until now to tell me?"

"It's pretty complicated." He looked to Kaylynn and Eileen for help, but they said nothing. It was as if they were watching to see how this scene played out, but Kaylynn was giving him rather dirty looks.

"That's all you can say?" Juniper dropped the scrub brush in disdain before standing up and brushing herself off. With a glare in his direction, she turned and walked out of the Owlery

"Good job, Potter," Kaylynn sneered. "I definitely get not telling everyone about that thing, but why keep it from her?"

James sighed, allowing his palm to slide down his face in frustration. "Maybe I felt it would be better if she didn't know that I watch her through the map from time to time and now she's bloody pissed at me."

"It'd probably be best if you talk to her," Eileen said. "You should try and make it right."

James' shoulders slumped. Make it right? Sure, he had just admitted to keeping her in the dark about something for years while his other best friends and most of his family members knew about it almost right away. How hard could that be? Still, he had to try and explain himself. The Gryffindor stood up and descended the spiral staircase. He didn't have to go too far to find Juniper. She was sitting on a bench in the corridor, twirling her wand in between her fingers.

"Juniper?" James stepped closer to her and she stopped playing with her wand. It slipped in between her fingers and dropped to the floor. He bent down to pick it up and offered it to her.

"So, why didn't you tell me about the map? I swear if you say 'it's complicated' again, I'm going to..." her voice trailed off leaving him to imagine what she would do if he repeated those same words he had uttered just a few minutes ago.

James sighed and sat down next to her. "I don't know, maybe I was afraid of how you would react if you found out that I pretty much watch you through this thing. I didn't want you to think I was some stalker."

Juniper turned her head to look at him. "Yet, you could tell your other friends about it with no problem?" She narrowed her eyes. "I was under the impression that I was grouped with your best friends as well."

"You are, Junie. It's really not that big of a deal. You know now, so why are you acting this way?"

Juniper jumped up all of sudden and spun on her heels to face him. "Not a big deal? You said that you'd never keep anything from me, but apparently I'm not worthy enough to know about an enchanted map that you have!"

"Junie, you're being silly," James said attempting to disarm her with his charming smile, but she only glared at him.

"Don't you dare call me Junie! How would you feel if I kept something from you, but told my other friends? You wouldn't like it very much!"

"Maybe not, but I certainly wouldn't be making a big deal out of it like you are. Look, I'm sorry, but you're not the only one in the school who didn't know about it. It's not like I told every single person and left you in the dark."

"Th-That's not the point! The point is you pretty much left me out!"

James stood and began to take a step towards her, but stopped when she pointed her wand at him. "Juniper, you're overreacting." He could feel himself growing angry. "So I didn't tell you. That's no reason for you to threaten me!" He eyed the wand, which began to give off angry red sparks.

Juniper said nothing, instead she lowered her wand and turned away. "Just...leave me alone," she muttered as she began to walk away from him.

James ran his fingers through his hair and started to follow her. "Come on, Juniper. Don't be like that."

She turned around and pointed her wand. "Flipendo Duo!" James was blasted back forcefully and landed on the floor, sliding a few feet. Unfortunately, Professor Longbottom chose that moment to come down the corridor.

"Miss Clayton! You know better than to attack a student in the middle of a corridor! I hate to do this, seeing as you belong to my House, but there will be ten points taken from Hufflepuff and you will be serving detention with me on Saturday morning. Be thankful that I'm not revoking your Hogsmeade privileges as well."

"Professor," James said standing up and clutching his shoulder, attempting to quickly come to Juniper's defense. "It's my fault, I upset her and-" But Professor Longbottom held up a hand to silence him.

"Whether you upset her or not, she still broke a rule and must suffer the consequences like any other students. While I do like Miss Clayton, I do not play favorites like Professor Slughorn does. She will serve detention with me this Saturday."

James sighed. "Yes, professor." He watched as Professor Longbottom walked away before directing his gaze at the girl who was standing a few feet away from him. He opened his mouth to try and apologize again, but she turned and started walking away once more. There was nothing he could do about it, other than wait for her to, hopefully, cool off. He had no idea why she was making such a big deal out of it.

 _You don't know? Wow, you really are thick-headed aren't you? She's obviously upset because you kept her in the dark about the map while your other best friends knew about it. How else did you expect her to react?_

 _With understanding? I figured she'd be all right with it, maybe a little miffed at first, but not enough to actually hex me._

 _Either way, you should try and make it right if you don't want her to lose your chances with her._

 _I'm not losing anything._ James sighed. Perfect, now he was having conversations with himself. They might as well admit him to St. Mungo's for insanity. Groaning in frustration, he decided to head outside in order to cool his head, ignoring the irritating pain in his shoulder. As he was able to move it, it wasn't broken and probably wouldn't require a trip to the Infirmary.


	18. Chapter 18: Forgiveness

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* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen: Forgiveness**

Juniper sighed as she headed to the greenhouses, which is where Professor Longbottom said he would be at breakfast. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants, her breath creating puffs of smoke, which indicated just how cold it had become. Then again, it was Scotland. Even during the summer, it only got up to twenty degrees celsius or sixty-eight degrees fahrenheit. She mentally shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about the weather. The only reason she thought about it, however, was because it made her forget how she had acted towards James a few days ago. Her friends words had rang in her head when she had finally talked to them in the common room that night.

 _ **"I get that you're upset with him. He definitely shouldn't have hid that from you, but you did kind of overreact. Just because he kept the map from you doesn't mean that he doesn't consider you to be a friend. Hell, I didn't know about the map either,"**_ Kaylynn had said.

 _ **"I know I'm new here and I really don't have much of a say, but from what I know, James and you have been friends for a long time. It seems a little trivial to let something like this ruin your friendship. The fact that James went after you and tried to explain should show that he cares. He could have just been a git about it and brushed you off."**_ This came from Eileen.

Juniper had been so emotionally drained after her fight with James that she had no argument. Part of her knew that she had overreacted immensely to something that really was small. Yet, another part of her wanted to remain angry with him as she felt it wasn't fair. She also knew that she was being very childish about it and had thrown a bit of a temper tantrum. She forced the thoughts out of her head as she reached Greenhouse Three.

"Good, you're just in time," Professor Longbottom said as he finished laying out a few tools. "I want you to pull the weeds and water these Venomous Tentacula." He stepped back to reveal a row of pots, which held seedlings or the squirming plants. "You don't have to worry about being poisoned by their thorns as they are only seedlings, but it still hurts like the dickens if you get stung, so watch out. After that, I want all of the gardening tools rearranged by hand, no magic. I'll be in my office if you need me."

Juniper nodded, having no argument. She deserved her punishment and would serve her detention with a humble attitude. Once Professor Longbottom had left, she donned her dragonhide gloves, pushed her hair from her face, and set to work. The Venomous Tentacula didn't like being manhandled too much and showed it by occasionally slapping at her arm. Even though she was wearing a jumper, she could still feel their burning sting and winced each time she was struck. She made a mental note to get some healing paste from Madame Pomfrey when she was done. Because she was so immersed in her work, she was unaware that someone else had come in and was standing a few feet behind her in the doorway.

"Hey." Juniper stopped working for a brief moment as she recognized James' voice, but then returned to her task at hand as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Hi," she said as she tossed some weeds onto the ground. For a moment, there was nothing, but silence between the two of them. Juniper had wanted to turn around and snap at him for she was still, very much, seething, but she stopped herself.

"I don't suppose you'd want to take a small break and talk to me for a few minutes, would you?"

Juniper sighed and set her tools down, wiping the sweat off her forehead and leaving a nice streak of dirt in its place. "Sure," she said and moved a few potted plants from one of the benches in the greenhouse so that they could sit down.

"Listen," he said after a few moments of silence. "I realize that I should have told you about the map a long time ago like I told my other friends. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you?" Juniper asked, tugging the sleeves of her jumper over her hands.

"Well, I think it's because when I first started to watch you through it, I might have felt ashamed without realizing it. I didn't want you to think that I was stalking you."

"I'm not sure if you can call that stalking," Juniper said quietly. "It's not like you were sneaking into my bedroom at night and watching me sleep."

James gave a dry laugh. "I'd like to think that I'm not that creepy."

Juniper's lips twitched slightly. "I was mad because I felt left out. I mean, we tell each other everything and it made me feel like, because you didn't tell me about the map, that I wasn't your best friend."

James nodded understandingly. "I'm also sorry for acting like an insensitive clod. That's something I need to work on."

"I won't lie, you were kind of a prat to me yesterday, but I also deserved it."

"No, you didn't. Honestly, I'm more surprised you didn't do more than knock me on my arse. I'm sorry you got in trouble, by the way."

Juniper shrugged. "It's not the first time I've been in detention." She stood up. "I should probably get back to work before Professor Longbottom finds me slacking off and really revokes my Hogsmeade priveleges.

James stood up as well. "So, you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

Juniper looked up at him. She realized that, no matter how mad he might make her, and no matter how many fights they had, she would never stop caring about him. "No, I'm not mad at you, anymore," she said smiling genuinely for the first time in days and was happily surprised when he enveloped her in a warm hug.

"I am kind of ashamed of myself, though," she said as she got back to work.

"Why's that?" James asked as he grabbed an extra pair of dragonhide gloves in order to start helping her.

"I wasn't really acting like a true Hufflepuff. We're not supposed to get angry like that."

James threw his head back and laughed. "Honestly, June, regardless of what House you're in, you still have emotions like everyone else and that means some of those emotions will be negative. I'm sure old Helga Hufflepuff would understand. No one is perfect, it's just not possible."

"I guess, I just feel horrible. I mean, I usually try not to let myself get provoked like that."

James shrugged. "I pretty much deserved it and I definitely felt the force behind that spell." He grinned impishly causing her to blush.

The worked in silence for the next hour and a half, only exchanging a few words, but Juniper felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she was no longer angry with him. Once they had finished with everything, they walked back up to the castle.

"Do you want to hang out with me in Hogsmeade?" he asked.

Juniper found herself blushing, but smiled at his direct question. She loved how he didn't beat around the bush. "Sure." She couldn't help, but accept his request and walked back to her common room, feeling a lot happier than before.

* * *

"So, ready for your first date with James?" Kaylynn asked playfully as she brushed a piece of lint off of Juniper's jumper.

"I-It's not a date," Juniper protested, her face a ripe tomato red. "We're just going to The Three Broomsticks and then to some of the shops." Why did her friend keep insisting on it being a date?

"You should have, at least, let me put some make-up on you." Kaylynn dug into her purse and pulled out a tube of lipgloss. "Just a little bit? You're not going to burst into flames or anything."

Juniper looked down at the light pink tube with disdain and took a step back. "I'll wear make-up at my funeral," she said before looking towards Eileen. "I still don't understand why you rejected Seth. He's a really nice guy."

"I'd rather get to know someone first before I decide to hang out with them alone," Eileen said with a shrug as she straightened the fringes on her periwinkle scarf.

"That's kind of hard when you don't really talk to many other people," Kaylynn pointed out.

Juniper suddenly jumped as a set of fingers tickled her left side. She turned around and saw James.

"You know I don't like being tickled," she said, pretending to scold him as she playfully hit him on the arm.

He smirked. "I know, that's why I do it. I see you're wearing that scarf I gave you."

Juniper lightly touched the soft woolen material that was wrapped around her neck. "Er...yes."

They came into Hogsmeade and James and Juniper began to head to The Three Broomsticks. As they were walking away, Juniper heard Kaylynn calling after them.

"Let us know how your date goes?" She grinned teasingly. Juniper glared at her with a look that said 'Remind me to kill you, later.'

The pub was invitingly warm when they stepped inside. Juniper removed her scarf as she didn't need it at the moment and James found them a table. There were other students that they already knew. The two of them waved at Jaenelle and Liam, who were there together.

"I didn't know the two of them were going out," Juniper said as she sat down at the table.

"I'm not even sure it's official. I think Liam's just trying to butter her up so that she'll go to the ball with him."

"I'm pretty sure Jaenelle will go. She likes to dress up." Juniper began pulling a few Galleons from her coin purse, but James pushed her hand away.

"What kind of friend would I be if I made you pay for your own?" he asked winking at her before standing up. "So, butterbeer, right?" he asked. "Or do you want something a bit stronger? I'm sure I can bribe one of the seventh years to buy us some firewhiskey."

"James! You know we're both way too young!" Juniper admonished.

James chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can't blame me for asking. All right, forget the firewhiskey, two butterbeers coming right up." He walked to the front of the pub where Madame Rosemerta was taking orders. Juniper made herself as comfortable as possible as she traced the grooves in the wooden table. All around her there were couples, most of them were just talking and laughing, but a few were snogging, which made her feel awkward. Although they didn't seem to have a care in the world. Maybe she was just a borderline prude.

 _You were the one thinking about James practically ravaging you in the library the other day,_ a voice reminded her.

 _I was not! What I was thinking about definitely didn't include ravaging of any kind._

Before she could continue with her inner argument, James had returned with two large mugs of butterbeer. He slid one over to her, then sat down with his. "You look nice today, by the way."

Juniper plucked at her red jumper and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks," she said accepting the compliment. "But I look the same as I always do."

"I like the way you always look."

Juniper wished she had a lot more composure as she blushed for, probably, the umpteenth time that day. Why couldn't she be calm, cool, and collected like Kaylynn or her sister? "I just wish that Kaylynn wasn't always trying to force make-up on me."

James shifted in his chair. "I may not know much about the stuff girls wear, but I do know that you don't need it. Besides, it's better to be natural than to look like that Joker guy in those Batman shows and comics."

Juniper frowned, puzzled. "Who?"

James waved his hand. "Nevermind, it's a Muggle thing. My father was raised by them, so he usually tries to make sure that I'm pretty up to date with their world." He then murmured something that Juniper couldn't hear.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I said that means I may also partake in the delights of a few Muggle super-hero comics as well," he said, his face slightly red.

Juniper struggled to stifle a laugh, which only made James scowl at her. "They're very riveting, you know!"

"No, no! I'm not laughing at you. I actually think it's kind of nice. I don't know much about comics, wizard or muggle, but I wouldn't mind reading a few."

James' scowl turned into a grin. "Really, now?" Juniper nodded. "I'll let you borrow a few. I think you'll like them."

Juniper had never really been one for reading, unless it was something centered around Quidditch, but she had checked out a book about Helga Hufflepuff from the library, which she hadn't even touched yet. Maybe she would enjoy a comic or two. "Er...great, you can bring a few to me later." She took another sip of her butterbeer, savoring the taste. She heard familiar laughter a few tables down and saw Avery sitting with her three female friends, plus a few male companions. That set her to wondering if any of them were the ones who had been persuaded to bewitch the Bludger.

"You all right, June?" James asked, following her gaze and grimacing in disgust. "How anyone can be attracted to a girl as horrible as Avery is beyond me."

Juniper relaxed slightly. At least she knew that James wasn't smitten by Avery, no matter how attractive she was. She briefly wondered if she should tell him about what she had overhead in the Owlery, but she was afraid that if she did, James might create a huge scene. Juniper and Avery's eyes met and the blue-eyed Ravenclaw gave her a look that seemed to wish a lot of pain and torture. The Hufflepuff turned away after a few moments.

"She's not even worth our time," James said before his eyebrows furrowed once again. "Are you sure you're all right? She didn't try and hurt you again, did she?"

Juniper shook her head frantically. "No, of course not! Stop worrying so much!"

James narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it and shrugged. "Right." He drained the rest of his butterbeer, then left to get a refill for the two of them, leaving Juniper to wince inwardly.

Why couldn't she tell him of what she had heard that day? He had been so patient by not pestering her and here she was skirting around the truth. She bit down on her bottom lip, realizing that her keeping this from him was like the map argument all over again. She was basically doing the same thing. She made a mental note to tell him that evening after they returned from Hogsmeade, despite the fact that she was dreading it.


	19. Chapter 19: Kittens and Confessions

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* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: Kittens and Confessions**

James could see that Juniper had something on her mind. He was definitely no empath, nor was he psychic, but she definitely wasn't the type of girl who knew how to hide her emotions. He felt the urge to ask her if she wanted to talk to him about anything, but decided against it. After all, she would tell him when she was ready and he wasn't about to nag her. Before leaving The Three Broomsticks, James bought them each a bottled butterbeer to go. The cold air nipped at the two of them as they stepped outside. James and Juniper wrapped their scarves around their necks again to keep themselves as warm as possible.

"Where do you want to go next?" James asked.

Juniper picked a piece of lint off her jumper. "Er...I kind of want to visit Zonko's."

James leaned in closer, a cheeky grin on his face. "I never took you for a practical jokester."

She blushed, much to his pleasure. "I-I'm not," she frowned. "I just like some of the stuff they have there."

"Sure, you do," he teased as he lightly tugged at her ponytail before they started heading towards the Joke Shop. On the way there, they passed by The Hog's Head, which wasn't exactly as warm and inviting as The Three Broomsticks, but students still frequented the establishment. The barkeep and the late Professor Dumbledore's younger brother, Aberforth Dumbledore was outside and seemed to be cursing as he tended to his goats that were held in a pen.

"I wonder what's wrong," Juniper asked as she glanced over at the elderly grey-bearded wizard who seemed very flustered.

"I don't know, but I definitely think it's worth finding out." James approached the pen and climbed over, despite Juniper's protests that it was probably none of their business. Still, she climbed over as well with a little help from the dark haired Gryffindor.

"Er...Mr. Dumbledore, sir?" Juniper asked, approaching the wizard. "Is something wrong?"

Aberforth spun around to face the two students. "You're damn right something is wrong! Taking care of my goats is hard enough, how in Merlin's name am I going to take care of four kittens? Bloody hell, I don't even like cats!"

James and Juniper looked at each other in confusion before peering around Aberforth. Near the pen were four small felines, two were orange with white feet while the other two were mostly solid white, but had grey stripings.

"Where did they come from?" Juniper asked.

"Well, June, when two adult cats of the opposite sex love each other very much-" James began with a playful smile, but was silenced when Juniper scowled at him.

"I really don't know. My guess is someone didn't want them and just dumped them off," Aberforth said in a flustered tone, running his fingers through his straggly beard. "They look to be a few months old, so they've clearly been weaned off of their mother's milk."

Juniper frowned. "Poor things. I can't believe that anyone would just abandon them."

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad. But the problem is that I have my goats to take care of, I can't be taking care of a couple of cats as well." He sighed, flustered and glanced at the two teenagers. "I don't suppose you know anyone who might want to take them off my hands."

Juniper shook her head. "I wouldn't mind having one, but my parents would have my head if they found out I got a cat without asking them."

James knelt down to better observe the kittens. "Who says they have to know? If I remember correctly, you mentioned always wanting a pet."

"I also remember not wanting a death wish, compliments of my mum and dad. I'm serious, my dad doesn't even like cats."

"That makes two of us," Aberforth muttered.

James picked up one of the white and grey kittens and held it up to Juniper. "Look at that face! He's saying 'Please take me home, Junie, pretty please with strawberries on top.'"

"James," Juniper said, but her resistance was failing as the kitten mewed meekly and twitched its small tail. Ever since she was very young, she had always wanted a pet, she couldn't deny that, but her parents refused to let her sister or her have one, mostly due to the fact that they didn't think the girls were two responsible enough and Juniper had always been a little too afraid to go against her parents rules.

"Even if I did take one of them, what will happen to the other three?" Juniper asked.

"You mean what will happen to the other two?" James corrected. "I think I might take one, myself."

"Great! So, then why don't you keep that one, as well?" Juniper pointed to the kitten that the Gryffindor was holding.

"Because, think of it as an early Christmas present. You're practically in love with this little guy...er...wait." He lifted the kitten's tail. "Sorry, I mean girl."

Juniper took the kitten and sighed. "My parents are going to kill me."

"Maybe I can send an owl to my own parents and make an arrangement with them," James offered as he knelt down and stroked one of the orange kittens. "I could see if they would let me take your kitten for the summer and then you take care of it while you're at Hogwarts. This way, your parents don't have to know."

"Oh, they'll find out. They find out everything, but what about the other two kittens?"

James shrugged. "You could ask Kaylynn and Eileen," he suggested.

Juniper shook her head. "I don't think so. Kaylynn actually has a dog back home that might try and eat it and I'm pretty sure Eileen already has an owl."

"Don't worry about these two," Aberforth said. "If I can't find homes for them, I guess I will have to take care of them. Two cats isn't as bad as four."

James grinned. "See? It all works out."

The pockets of Juniper's pants were rather small, so she cast a Concealed Enlarging Charm on one of them in order to expand it by a small fraction and tucked the kitten inside allowing its head to poke out. James did the same thing with his pockets and his own tiny feline.

* * *

After saying good-bye to Aberforth, they continued on their way to Zonko's. Despite the fact that Juniper was still reluctant to have a pet, she still couldn't help, but smile. Of course, James was a very hard person to resist and when he'd held that small kitten up to her face, she'd found it impossible to say no. If only she wasn't such a pushover. Still, it was worth it for the adorable ball of fur that was nestled safely in her magically enlarged left pocket.

They entered Zonko's and immediately made a beeline for the shelves that held many different prank items in order of price from cheapest to most expensive. Jaenelle was also in the shop with Marisa and Lori, giggling as they played around with a joke wand.

"I'll be right back," Juniper said to James before approaching her twin sister.

"Wotcher, June," Jaenelle said with a toothy smile before her eyes fell upon what was in Juniper's left pocket. "Am I going off my rocker or is that a kitten?"

Juniper withdrew the cat from her pocket so that Jaenelle could get a better look at it. "Er...please don't tell Mum and Dad. Apparently someone dumped four of them out near the Hog's Head. I ended up taking one and James took another."

Jaenelle sighed and straightened her back, folding her arms across her chest. "You know Mum and Dad are going to have your head when they find out. They find out almost everything."

The younger twin ran her fingers through her hair. "I know, but it was so hard to say no!"

Jaenelle scowled. "I'm a little miffed off, myself. You didn't even think to bring an extra one for me?"

Juniper could honestly say that she didn't consider her sister when she took the kitten. "Er...well...I'm sure Aberforth would love it if you took another one off his hands"

Jaenelle started laughing. "I'm kidding. Besides, I don't know how I'd find the time or the patience to actually take care of one, myself." She reached over and scratched the kitten under its chin. "I think one between the both of us should be enough. What are you going to name it?"

"I, honestly, don't know. I'll probably find a name in a book."

"Oi, Jae," James said, coming up to the two girls. Jaenelle lifted an eyebrow.

"Potter," she said nodding to him, although an impish smile played at her lips.

"Want to do me a favor and actually accept Liam's invitation to go to the ball? He's been driving me crazy with you dangling the answer in front of him on a fishhook. Please say yes to him."

"Now, why would I want to do that?" Jaenelle said batting her eyelashes in feigned innocence. "Don't worry, I already have my answer, but I just find it amusing that he asks me every other day, right about."

Marisa snorted. "That doesn't really surprise me. But what are you going to do if he ends up getting tired of waiting and asks another girl?"

"If that happens, then obviously he didn't care enough to wait for my answer."

"I don't know why you lot are even worrying, the ball isn't for another month and a half," Lori pointed out.

"True," Jaenelle said. "But some of us want to get a head start before all of the good looking people are taken, which means you'd better hurry, James. Someone might ask Juniper before you know it." She winked at the Gryffindor and her Hufflepuff sister.

Juniper's cheeks tinged pink. "Jae," she said, nervously tugging the sleeves of her jumper over her hands. "I'm not even sure if I'm going. You know I don't dance...can't dance," she added as an afterthought.

"All the more reason for us to keep up our dancing lessons," James reaching over to playfully tug at her ponytail. Juniper lightly brushed his hand away.

"Let's talk about something else than my two left feet," she said as she turned towards the large barrel that held the fake wands and picked one up, pretending to be interested in it. She didn't want to think about the ball or anything that related to the subject. It seemed that after a few minutes, the others got the hint, for they stopped talking about it. Jaenelle, Marisa, and Lori soon left the joke shop with their purchases, but not before giving Juniper's kitten a pat on the head.

"Oi! No pets allowed!" The shop owner strode over to the two of them. "Can't you two read?" He pointed to a very obvious sign. "I swear to Merlin, if those two cats have soiled my floor..."

"Keep your knickers on, you old codger. They haven't moved since we came in here," James said, glaring at the owner. "Let's go, June."

Juniper followed James outside. "Don't let it bother you, we both didn't see the sign," she assured him.

"I actually did see it, all right," James confessed. "I just didn't think he'd notice the kittens."

"So, you broke the rules once again?" Juniper folded her arms across her chest and feigned a disapproving expression.

"Yes, I'm bad. Are you going to punish me?" James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively causing Juniper to blush and stutter for a few seconds before James laughed. "I'm just kidding." He lightly tickled her side, earning a squeal from the Hufflepuff.

"Enough now. Maybe we should get these two inside. I think it's actually gotten a lot colder and I want to see if we can get some tuna from the kitchens."

"Well, I didn't bring my invisibility cloak, but since the majority of the staff are here in Hogsmeade, we shouldn't have a problem sneaking in. It's practically right by your common room. I'm surprised you haven't gone, before."

Juniper shrugged. "It never really crossed my mind. There are a lot of places in the castle I haven't visited."

James smirked. "Scared?"

"No! I just never really saw the point. Besides, there are some parts of the castle that are off limits because they're dangerous."

"All the more reason to explore them."

Juniper shook her head. "Spoken like a true Gryffindor." They began to head back towards the castle. As most of the third years and above were in Hogsmeade, the school was emptier than usual, but there were still a few students, who were unable to go, or had chosen not to go loitering around in The Entrance Hall or traversing the Ground Floor corridor. James and Juniper descended the right staircase that would lead them down into the kitchens.

"I still can't believe you've never been in here." James tickled the pear on the painting that served as the entrance. It jiggled for a moment before the painting swung open, allowing them access. The first thing Juniper saw when she stepped through were hundreds of house-elves. Well, maybe not that many, but more than she had ever seen in her entire life, each of them dressed in the same towels that were tied around their shoulders like togas and bore the Hogwarts Crest. An elderly elf noticed them and immediately made a beeline for the two students.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter!" the elf squeaked. "We have a fresh plate of ginger snaps, would sir like to try?"

"No thanks, Dolly," James said. "We actually came to see if you had any tuna fish?"

"We do, sir! May Dolly ask why Mr. Potter wants tuna?"

James and Juniper reached into their pockets to pick up the kittens, which mewed in protest to being taken from such a comfortable place, Juniper's cat clung to the threads of the denim material, but the young Hufflepuff gently removed her claws.

"We have two new pets that need feeding," James said.

Dolly called another, much younger House-elf and asked for two containers of tuna before turning back to the students and resting her large blue eyes upon Juniper. "Would the miss care for something? She looks very peckish."

"Oh, no, it's fine, really." But the moment she said that, her traitorous stomach let out a loud grumble.

James raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. "Liar." He turned to the house-elves. "How about a bowl of strawberries."

Juniper opened her mouth to protest again, but James just led her to one of the four tables that were identical to the ones in the Great Hall. "I'm fine, really. I have a few Sugar Quills in my dorm that I can snack on."

"Shut up for a moment and let yourself be waited on. Besides, strawberries are much better for you than candy."

Juniper pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "I like candy and strawberries aren't exactly a real meal, themselves."

"Dinner is in a few hours. I figured that this should tie you over until then." Dolly returned with a large bowl of very appetizing bright red strawberries while the younger house-elf hurried forward with two containers of tuna. The kittens must have been practically starving, for as soon as they saw the shredded fish, they immediately began to devour it as if it would be their last meal.

"Hungry little buggers, aren't they?" James asked, looking at Juniper, but she was staring down at her strawberries, deep in thought. "Is something wrong?"

Now was as good a time as any to tell them. The two of them were alone, aside from the House-Elves, but they knew better than to eavesdrop. "I kind of have something to tell you. Do you remember that Monday after I got out of the Infirmary when I went to the Owlery?" James nodded. "Well, when I was up there delivering my letter to my parents, I heard something."

"What did you hear?"

"Cheri and Riley talking, I overheard them mentioning the Bludger incident. From what they said, while it had been Avery's idea, she hadn't bewitched the Bludger, but had, instead, gotten someone else to do it."

James narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Who?"

"That's the thing, they never said his name. They just kept saying 'he'."

The Gryffindor sighed. "I see and you've been keeping this a secret until now?"

Juniper shook her head. "Not exactly, I just was having trouble figuring out when to tell you and I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it. I haven't even told Kaylynn or Eileen."

James looked at her a moment, then stood up. "Where are you going?" Juniper asked.

"I'm going to go get Riley and Cheri to talk! I'll string them up by their toes if I have to in order to make them reveal the person who so eagerly bewitched the Bludger for that bitch, Avery!"

"You'll get in trouble!" Juniper grabbed ahold of his sleeve.

"Do you think I give a damn? I swear once I find out the student's name, he's going to wish he'd never been born!"

"Listen, there are other ways to do this other than going in there with your wand blazing."

"Oh, really?" James sneered. "What do you propose we do? Wait for them to get to you, first?"

Juniper released his sleeve and stood back, her hands on her hips. "I appreciate the fact that you want to look out for me, but I'm not your little sister that you're obligated to protect. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself and I don't want to have to hide behind anyone."

"I'm not questioning your ability to defend yourself, but there's no way of knowing how good of a wizard this bloke is. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I allowed you to face this alone?"

For a brief second, an wave of disappointment came over Juniper. Was James really saying that he only considered her a friend and nothing more? She mentally shook her head, pushing the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. "I think it would be best to keep an eye on Avery and her friends, watch who she hangs out with. The person who bewitched that Bludger is bound to reveal himself sooner or later."

"I don't like it, I still say we interrogate Cheri and Riley, ourselves then find the culprit and turn him into spider food for the Acromantulas."

Juniper gave him a look, to which James amended. "But, if that's too gruesome for you, we'll do it your way." The young Hufflepuff relaxed and smiled. "Thanks, James."

"Yeah, yeah, go on and eat your strawberries."

* * *

Juniper had felt a great weight lifted from her shoulder when she told James, despite the fact that he was very cross with her for keeping it a secret for so long. Yet, because she had told him, it was only right that she tell Kaylynn and Eileen as well. She had a pretty good idea of how Kaylynn would react, similarly to James. Eileen was quite an enigma and would, hopefully, be more like her usual mellow self. By the time they left the kitchens with their kittens, James had calmed down slightly.

"Why don't we drop our kittens off in our dorms and then meet on the Quidditch field? I think I need to cool my head with some flying and we can practice passing the Quaffle."

Juniper folded her arms across he chest and lifted her eyebrow. "Are you sure your teammates would like that? I mean, you wouldn't want to give away all of your secrets to me, I might bring them back to my team."

"I trust you. Besides, I know you like flying as much as I do." He winked at her. "Or are you afraid that you won't be able to keep up with me on that Cleansweep of yours?"

Juniper snorted. "It's not the model of the broom that counts, but the skill of the witch or wizard riding it."

"You must secretly hang out with my dad. He says the same thing." James ran his fingers through his dark hair, making it messier than it already was. "Right then, we'll meet on the Quidditch field. You'll probably get there before I do." They each went their separate ways with James heading up to the seventh floor and Juniper traveling down the basement corridor to her own common room.


End file.
